Helen Lilian Potter - The Girl who Ruled
by Indigo Gus
Summary: The soul shard gets absorbed at an early age, changing Helen and the world forever. Fem!Harry, Dark!Harry, Manipulative!Harry. Mature, multi, Gory. Will contain Lemons, other adult content. First story.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers****:**

**AN: Date: 29/02/2020, This is my first story ever on any kind of platform, so errors will be made, either in flow of story, grammar or format, so please be patient. Due to the same reason this story will not be too long (I would pleasantly surprised if it reaches 100K words). I've almost completed my plot and will start writing up with gusto soon. This first chapter was written almost a year ago and I published it without editing it first (sorry to those who saw that catastrophic piece). It's edited now and I might add content to it before next chapter. See you guys soon.**

**Update 19/04/2020: This story is now also posted on ao3. For the time being the content is same. Later on that might change depending on how much the FF allows me to post here.**

**This story will contain Lemons, scenes of torture and gore, non-con etc etc. If that's not your cup of tea, I suggest you don't go any further.**

**I don't own HP and its world and I'm not making any monetary income from this work.**

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Helen lilian potter

It was Halloween night and children were running around going from door to door trick-or-treating. They ran across the cobbled road, seemingly ignoring the lone dark clad figure standing there in the middle of the street. In reality though they hadn't even detected the presence of the figure because of the notice-me-not charms applied over the dark cloak. If the children had seen what was under the hood of the cloak, they would have had a real fright because of the terrifying face under it. The face was serpentine with slits for nose and glowing red eyes and pale white skin. This was the face which had the people of wizarding world run in terror. They were so afraid that the name associated with this face was never uttered. This was the face of Lord Voldemort or as most of the world called him He-who-must-not-be-named or you-know-who.

Lord Voldemort was feeling exhilarated as he looked towards a cottage hidden from the rest of the world. The cottage was hidden by the ultimate secrecy charm, the fidelius. Only the secret keeper could reveal the secret hidden by fidelius. And his quarry had chosen his hidden 'rat' to be their secret-keeper. He had laughed manically when he had learned that bit of news from his follower.

Through the front window a happy family could be seen inside consisting of a couple and a child. The man was of average height and had wild dark hair and round glasses and was sitting on a couch making faces at the child in the woman's arms. The woman was taller than average at about the same height as that of the man and had slim figure. She had long red hair and brilliant green eyes which he could see even from distance. She was a beautiful specimen, no wonder one of his followers wanted her. The child was a one year old girl with dark hair and same eyes as her mother's and was laughing at her father's antics. It was this girl that he was here to... see. It was this girl that was mentioned in a prophecy about him. About his downfall. Something he couldn't allow to happen.

So, Voldemort decided that it was time to go in and give them a visit. Can't have the destiny waiting. He entered the front yard and approached the door. Pulling his pale wand out, he pointed it at the door and blasted it inwards. The man, James Potter, reacted quickly, jumping up from the couch and pushed his wife towards the stairs. He took a look at their unexpected guest and shouted, "It's him Lily! Take Helen and go! I'll hold him!"

Voldemort laughed wondering how he was going to do that without even his wand. He casually tossed a killing curse towards Potter who dodged it at the last second by diving out of its path and towards his wand. Voldemort's humor dried up at that as he didn't want to waste time with the man. Before Potter could reach his wand, he cast the curse again this time taking care not to miss. His aim was true as the man fell after taking the curse to his side.

He moved towards the staircase and climbed upstairs. On finding the nursery door blocked he again pointed his wand and blasted it. Inside, he found the child standing in a crib with the woman, Lily Potter, standing protectively in front of her.

He ordered, "Step aside girl."

Lily frantically replied, "Not Helen! Not my baby!"

"Step aside girl, I'll not ask again" Voldemort said irritatedly.

"Not Helen! Take me instead!" The woman continued hysterically.

Vexed, Voldemort killed her with the vivid green curse and approached the child, who was strangely still quite, staring at him. He absently noted that her eyes were the same color as the curse she was about to meet. He looked at her for a few moments and then pointed his wand to her forehand.

XXXXX

When the dark lord casted the killing curse on Helen, the curse rebounded due to her mother's sacrifice and hit him before he could react, unintentionally splitting his soul. As he fled in the spirit form, he unknowingly left a soul fragment behind, which latched onto the only living person in the vicinity, Helen, creating a lightening bolt scar on her forehead, and laid there dormant.

Later on when she was bought into the magically rich environment of Hogwarts by Hagrid, the sentience of Hogwarts recognized her weakened state both in body and magic and supplied her with magic intending to heal her. Her body started absorbing the magic and detected the soul fragment. Her magic tried to reject it from the body but couldn't as the soul fragment held on too tightly, so instead it did the next best thing, it started to integrate and annex it. Since the fragment itself was very weak and was using all its efforts to hold on, it could do nothing to fight her magic and capitulated, leading to a complete absorption.

This moment will go down in the history as the true birth of the greatest (or darkest depending on opinion) witch or wizard to ever live, the one who will change the world as we know it, forever. As soon as the fragment was absorbed, all the knowledge, information and experiences of the dark lord at his peak become hers. The assimilation of the soul caused her very nature to be changed. Her feeble baby magical capacity got a significant boost, which will in turn, affect her magical growth and final mature magical capacity exponentially.

Her magic and her soul, both realized that the knowledge and experiences were too much for her current baby body and mind, and thus locked them up until her mind had gained a self consciousness.

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'Five years is old enough' thought Petunia, as she thought of using her unwanted niece to relieve of her own workload. She eyed the girl, who was playing outside in her garden, chasing butterflies.

Nodding to herself she called out, "Girl! Get in here."

The girl in question was enjoying her 5th birthday, after being let out of the house for the first time in a while. She was pale and thin, like she hadn't been fed enough. She was looking about in wonder at all the colorful flowers and butterflies, things she hadn't seen before, and was trying to catch one of the colorfully winged insect. As soon as she heard her aunt though, she quickly gave up the chase and hurried back in as she didn't want to anger her aunt. That would lead to no food for dinner and she had already missed last night's meal because Dudley was extra hungry yesterday.

She stood in front of her aunt and softly said "Yes aunt Petunia" in her sweet melodious voice.

"You are old enough now to share the workload and earn your keep here girl. Today onwards you will be given various tasks and you'll get your meals only after you have completed them. Am I understood? "

"Yes, Aunt Petunia "

"Good, now lets start easy. Go and gather all the dirty laundry from around the house and then you'll be washing and cleaning them up!"

After collecting all the dirty laundry, Dudley's was especially stinky, Helen washed and cleaned up all the clothes under the watchful eyes of her aunt. The activity left her 5 years old weak body extremely drained. Still, however, her aunt took her to the kitchen and started instructing in the basics of cooking. Here she cut herself up many times and burned a couple of fingers while frying bacon for her uncle. She got smacked on head hard when she burnt up one batch. Afterwards she was left to take care of injuries herself and was given a few slices of beard and the burnt bacon to eat.

Soon it became routine for her, to be woken up early by her aunt to cook breakfast, wash laundry and clean the house. Then have a meager breakfast before school. At school she was thankfully left alone by her cousin and his gang of bullies. Later back at her aunt's house, she would tend the garden, clean the house again to satisfy her aunt's OCD, cook dinner for the ravenous family, eat another meager meal for dinner and then finally pass out of exhaustion in her cupboard. Most of the days would be accompanied by beating and furious tongue lashing whenever her weak and exhausted body could not complete her tasks, followed by being thrown in her cupboard without food.

A month after her birthday, it was a particularly bad day for her. She didn't get food last night and broke some chinaware in the morning, so missed breakfast too. Her school day was bad too because of the pain from punishment lashes on her back. During lunch, some foolish kids playing tag in canteen spilled her lunch. In the evening due to her semi-conscious state she accidentally uprooted her aunt's favorite dahlias. She thankfully passed out during the following beating and was later unceremoniously thrown in her cupboard.

With her body close to giving up, her magic, which had been lying dormant till now (not even a single accident magic incident) finally came to her aid and started healing her. This lead to the binding to be finally broken and her magic was finally free, releasing all characteristics and hidden potential within her. All the memories and knowledge of Lord Voldemort's soul fragment started to flow into her mind. Within moments her personality changed and her thought process matured into cunning, ambitious and pragmatic mindset. Ruthless in her pursuits, dominant in her nature and extremely charismatic. Her magic affected her body too, causing a mini growth sprout, filling her up to a healthy level, her skin changed from sickly to a healthy glow, her hair from lifeless lump to shiny waves and her still closed dull eyes gained color and were bright with power. She gained an inch in height as well.

Slowly her eyes opened as she gained consciousness and for the first time started using her augmented brain. First she assessed her body with her magic and internal awareness and found all the changes which brought a slight smile. After finding everything to her liking she started observing her surroundings and her smile fell. 'This wouldn't do' she thought to herself and directed her magic to the cupboard door which shattered with loud sound. She walked out and went into the drawing room where she placed herself dainty for her relatives to arrive, which they would after the sudden noise woke them up.

Her aunt and uncle came rushing in and came to a sudden halt on seeing her sitting primly on the couch. Before they could speak she commanded, "Take a seat" lacing her magic into the command. The couple quickly sat and watched her dumbfounded.

She started talking and influencing their minds at the same time "Things will be different from now on. I'll no longer slave away for you and you are to take care of my every needs and wants. I'll be generous and not want for extraordinary, however my wishes would be your commands. You will shift Dudley to his second bedroom and refurnish the first as my bedroom with best quality materials. Again, I'll be reasonable and till the changes are done I'll stay in your room and uncle, you'll bunk with Dudley. If I require any material, it will be procured with haste, whether mundane or magical."

At this both had their eyes wide open. She continued, "Yes, I know about magic and all that you have hidden from me." She gave them a withering stare and they shrank within themselves due to the magical pressure "and from now on we will be entering into the magical world occasionally."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: See First chapter for disclaimer

The residents of Privet Drive saw a flurry of activities in and around No. 4. Many construction workers were seen coming in and going from it, movers bringing in materials, rattles and clangs were heard for days as the house was refurbished. Meanwhile, inside the house, polarized emotions were observed. Helen would be seen calming watching and occasionally giving inputs whenever needed, but otherwise was seen with mostly a thoughtful expression, something one wouldn't find on a 5 years old. The workers were always confounded by her mature behavior and her inputs, which were well-thought and thus surprised them further.

On the contrary, Dudley couldn't believe what was happening. His parents, who till now would dance on his whims, were now doing the same for her and completely stone-walling him and ignoring his tantrums. Once when he was going to confront the girl, his dad had interfered and scolded him to never disturb her again. He couldn't even touch her in school too as she was the new favorite of teachers, and they would report all his misdeeds back to his parents anyways.

Elder Dursleys' were completely under Helen's control. Vernon would go out of the way to get the best materials for Helen's new room. He oversaw the whole construction project himself and would be heard shouting loudly at anyone who made even a tiniest of mistake. He even had the whole house repainted when Helen mentioned off-handedly that the colors of her new room and the house didn't compliment.

Petunia had immediately taken her niece to the best boutiques in the area, where Helen had immediately taken a liking to fashionable dresses, skirts and clothes. Soon, both the woman and the girl were a regular sight at various cloth shops in Surrey and even in London, whenever the latter grow out of her current vestures or just on her whim.

End result of all the work in the house was a beautiful room on the first floor with creamy peach color walls, a Victorian styled queen sized bed against the back wall, with satin sheets and a matching satty at foot. To the right of entrance door was a full length mirror, with shelves on either side. To the left was a walk in closet and the entrance to a private en-suite bathroom done in white tiles and marble. The remaining wall had huge glass windows and a glass door that opened into a balcony where sunrises could be witnessed.

With her mind now being augmented and having Voldemort's memories, school was useless for Helen, but despite that she attended to keep her cover. Still she ended up being seen as exceptionally intelligent girl, who had a keen interest in modern technology and sciences as well as recent history and politics. Teachers and neighbors would describe her as fashionable girl who would always do something constructive with her time, be it reading heavy volumes in library, discussing latest policies with elders, helping her follow classmates, swimming in the local pool etc.

However, what they didn't know was that Helen never did anything out of the good of her heart. Every action had a purpose, and everyone was a tool for her use. She studied up modern technologies because Voldemort's knowledge about them was woeful and she realized that muggles had advanced too fast in the last few decades. They now had missiles with pinpoint accuracy, planes that flew faster then sound, satellites watching everything from the skies and computers with intelligence almost equal to human. She was specially impressed with mobile phones as they made letters completely useless.

The classmates she helped were either kids of influential people or had potential to themselves become one someday. She would help them in understanding subject matter or simply introduce to other potentials and they would be grateful to her, helped along with a subtle application of magic, making them forever indebted to her. She charmed various powerful muggles with her political acumen and grace, making important contacts wherever she went.

Occasionally, Helen and her aunt would venture into the magical world. On their first visit, they bought up weekly editions of newspapers from previous years from the time when the dark lord fell to present as well as recent history books. Helen found about the fallout of that fated day, how she was famous all over the world for defeating the dark lord.

She also found that the world thought Voldemort to be dead, which she knew from her memories to not be the case. She found which noble families had risen and fallen as the consequence of the war. Several Death eater families were sitting pretty after claiming imperious, while the most zealous followers of dark lord were in Azkaban. She learned of the losses the light side took, especially that of Alice and Frank Longbottom, her godmother and her husband.

She also learned of what the great 'Leader of Light' Albus Percival Wulfic Brian Dumbledore had been up to, which was same old, same old. He was still playing his long game of chess, moving pawns here and there, her being one as well. Apparently, he had told the world that she was safe with caring family members.

Helen scoffed, 'caring, my arse' she thought to herself. Pausing, a smirk grow on her face, 'well they are now, so he is partially correct' she thought again.

She found out about Sirius Black imprisonment and frowned to herself. Voldemort's memories showed her that Peter Pettigrew was the traitor, not Sirius Black. Apparently, Sirius had lost his cool and was outwitted by the worm. She shock her head, 'Can't help him right now, will have to revisit this particular issue at a later date' she thought.

On her later visits to Diagon alley, she bought up potion books, a potion set and a few key ingredients to brew up nutrition potions for the damage that was done to her body, as it was not completely done away by her magic. She bought the books as Voldemort's potion knowledge, while adequate was not great. Soon, the last affects of the malnutrition was gone, giving her healthier skin, perfect eyesight and another inch to her height.

On her 11th birthday, Helen woke up with a smile on her face. She went out to the balcony to witness the sun already risen and soaked in the sunlight for a few minutes while brushing her hair. As she entered her room, she checked herself in the full length mirror. She found a beautiful 11 years old girl looking back at her. She was of slightly above average height at 4'10" with slim figure wearing a night-suit of grey shorts and white spaghetti slip. She had a heart shape face, with arched dark eyebrows, almond shaped bright emerald eyes, small slim nose and full pink lips. Her 'famous' scar was now barely visible that too if one were to stand close and squint their eyes. Her dark wavy hair were long, reaching the middle of her back, and shinned in red tint whenever the sunlight caught them right. Smiling to herself, she went to the walk in closet to select clothings for her special day and started getting ready.

Thirty minutes later, a girl dressed in a floral sundress with brown calf length boots and light makeup descended down the stairs where her puppets...uhm... relatives greeted her a good morning and a very happy birthday. As she sat down for breakfast, she thought about her relatives. Vernon was now the Vice-President at his company, which she arranged by influencing the right people, as a reward for his good work for her and also to keep up with her expenses. Petunia also had a state-of-the-art kitchen for the same reason. Dudley had by now thinned out and was programmed to the attack-dog of Helen, whenever rarely she needed such means.

'Good servants should always be awarded' she thought to herself, as Petunia served her a healthy breakfast of eggs, oats and fresh juice.

Just as she finished her breakfast, a hoot was heard from the window. She looked up to find a tan owl sitting there with a letter tied to its leg. She smiled and called it to her. As it landed next to her, she gave it a piece of bacon from Dudley's plate and took the offered letter. She noticed her name written in Elegant green ink, along with her address accurate to her room. Amused she opened the letter and read through her acceptance letter of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with the shopping list. She had Dudley fetch a pen and paper and wrote her confirmation reply and gave it to the waiting owl, who immediately flew off.

She looked up to her aunt and said "We are going to Diagon alley".

Her aunt nodded, got up and quickly cleaned up the table. Soon they left, with her aunt driving her new Beetle to London. There they quickly found a place to park, and went to the Leaky Cauldron. Without making a fuss, they asked the bartender to open up the way to Diagon alley and entered the magical world.

There is went straight to the huge White marble building, the Gringotts Bank, run by the goblins. Finding an empty teller, Helen asked to be taken to her vault.

"Name?" the Goblin asked.

"Helen Lilian Potter" she replied neutrally.

Arching an eyebrow, the goblin looked at her closely for a few moments.

Satisfied he asked "Does Miss Helen Lilian Potter has her key?".

"No" she replied.

Humming, he said "Then a new key will be issued to you if you would confirm your identity by a blood test".

Helen agreed and the goblin produced a test sheet and a needle. Pricking her left forefinger, she let a single blood drop fall on the sheet, where lines began to appear. She handed back the needle absently noting that the prick healed itself slowly. The goblin after reading the sheet nodded to himself and produced a key for her.

"Do you want the previous key to be disabled?" he inquired. After receiving an affirmative reply he directed the girl to the runner goblin.

Helen asked her aunt to wait and followed the goblin to the cart, which took them to her vault. On entering the vault she deduced that this was a trust fund vault and not the main Potter vault. Shrugging to herself she took out 1000 galleons which would be more than enough to buy all the items and various extras she was planning and still she would be left with enough coin to last a year.

Back out in Diagon they went first to the Trunk shop and bought a 4 compartment trunk with various safety features and a shrinking charm on it. Shrinking it to matchbox size, she pocketed it and continued on. They bought prescribed potions kit and ingredients as well as the telescope. They went to Flourish and Blotts and got the first year books and a few extra. Next they went to Madam Malkin's and got 3 set of Hogwarts robes of high quality. Helen also purchased several extra dresses and robes.

With one last item left they headed for the only Wand shop in Diagon Alley, Ollivanders. A bell chimed as they entered the shop, signalling the shopkeeper.

An old man with wide, pale eyes came up and said, "Ah! Helen Potter. How have I waited for you to come to my shop? Oh, it seems only yesterday that your parents were here to get their first wand. your father favored a Mahogany wand, 11", good for transfiguration, whereas your mother paired up with a Willow one, 10 and a quarter inches, perfect for charm work. While I say favor, it is the wand that chooses the witch or wizard. But I digress, let us find you a wand".

For next half an hour Helen tried dozens of wands all failing to produce the perfect result. This however, didn't seem to faze the wandmaker out as he seemed ecstatic to have found a difficult customer. After a while, he paused with a thoughtful expression on his face, "I wonder" he murmured to himself and went inside the shop. He came out carrying a dusty box in his hands and carefully opened it, presenting the wand inside to her. Inside, laying on a cushion, was a light colored wand, roughly 11" long with simple light colored handle. As soon as she touched the wand, she know that this was it. Her Magic swirled around her and she felt pleasant warmth from the wand. Bright golden and red sparks emitted from the tip of the wand.

"11 inches long, made of holly and possessing a single phoenix feather as core" Ollivander said.

He continued "That phoenix gave only one more feather, just one, and it went into the wand that gave you that faded scar". Helen looked at him with her face carefully neutral.

"You will do great things, Miss Potter" he stated, "after all, the owner of brother of your wand also did great things. Terrible, but great". He paused and then with a smile said "That will be seven galleons".


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: check first chapter for disclaimer**

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After buying a forearm wand holder, they left the shop and the alley and went back to privet drive. For the next few weeks Helen maintained her routine and planned her arrival in the magical world.

On the morning of September 1st, she woke up early, did her morning activities and went for a last swim in the local pool. After coming back she had a nice warm shower and dressed up in a sleeveless white blouse and navy blue pencil skirt and took a long coat in her arm. She put the packed trunk, shrunk to matchbox size, in her pocket and went downstairs. Feeling a bit ravenous, she had a heavier than usual breakfast of ham and bacon sandwich along with a glass of orange juice.

Soon, she was ideally watching the landscape fly by as her uncle drove her to the station. On reaching at fifteen past ten, she dismissed the man and casually strolled to the platform 9 and 10.

Here, she waited for a while to observe the families entering the barrier. After observing what looked like mostly muggleborn children enter for a while, she walked up and leaned into the pillar and slowly appeared in the famous nine and three quarters platform.

First thing she observed was the Hogwarts express. It was still the same as it was in Voldemort's memories with a scarlet engine rumbling in front and steam rising from it. There were many families milling around, mingling with each other, saying goodbyes to their children. She recognized a few death eaters with their children. She spotted Malfoy with a miniature copy of himself, Nott standing stiffly with a woman and a boy, and finally Crabbe and Goyle not too far away from Malfoy with two dumb looking boys next to them.

Helen spotted an authoritative auburn haired woman with a girl of same hair and guessed that this was Amelia Bones, current head of DMLE. She watched as they said their final goodbye and decided to follow the girl, who was joined by a blonde haired girl. She watched them enter a carriage near the end of the train, waited for a few minutes and entered herself. She quickly located the compartment they were in, knocked at the door and opened it. Inside she found the two girls chatting happily, talking about what seemed the house selection secret procedure.

Putting a pleasant smile on her face, Helen asked, "Do you mind if I join you?"

The girls looked at each other, shrugged and the redhead replied "Sure, go ahead."

Taking the seat opposite to them she introduced herself, "Hi! My name is Helen and I'll be a first year student at Hogwarts. Are you two the same?"

"Yes, we are first years as well. I'm Susan Bones and my friend here is Hannah Abbott", the auburn haired girl replied. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion she asked, "You are Helen Potter, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm" Helen admitted amicably.

Both girls' eyes widened at that and they looked at her forehead. Finding nothing there they got a confused look and Hannah finally asked, "You don't look like the way I expected?"

Grinning Helen replied, "What? No scar, no glasses?" laughing at their expressions she continued "Yeah, I've read the books written about me, but I don't remember anyone coming to meet or even see me for an interview. I don't know from where they got their information. Maybe it's all fiction just like the rest of the stories. Anyways, as far as I know the scar faded within a few years after I got it, if you look very closely you might notice it, if the light is right. As for the glasses, I've never worn any. That I think they just assumed because of my father."

"So you never fought dark wizards riding a dragon?" Hannah asked disappointingly.

"Nope" Helen replied in amusement.

Ignoring the sad sigh from Hannah, Susan asked, "So what do you think about house sorting? Which house do you think you'll get in?"

Thinking for a bit, Helen replied, "I think Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, as their traits I value the most."

"I'll probably be in Hufflepuff too, most of my family was", Susan said. "I wouldn't mind Griffindor or Ravenclaw though". she continued "I thought you would like Griffindor, considering your parents were in that house."

"Most would assume so, but I prefer intelligence and hard work over bravery anyday. I rather be smart and timid rather than brave and dumb." Helen replied, "though I'm brave too when bravery is needed."

"I hope you're in Hufflepuff, as I would most likely be there too", Hannah interjected.

"Whatever house we are in, we can be friends", she paused and continued, "if you want to be friends with me, that is."

"Of course we want to be friends with you", Susan said while Hannah nodded along. Helen gave them a cheerful smile and they gave back excited grins, having made a new and a famous friend.

They sat in companionable silence for a while. Helen looked out the window and saw that they were already moving, having completely missed the train departure. The buildings were growing further and further apart and the scenery was turning green. She got up and shrugged off her coat which she was still wearing and took out her trunk to put it in.

"That's a very pretty outfit!" Hannah exclaimed, "Where did you get that skirt? I've never seen such style." she asked. Susan too looked up interested.

"What? this", Helen squad putting up a pose to fully display her outfit, "This is a common formal or semi-formal wear among muggle women."

"Isn't it a bit short though", Susan asked looking at her half exposed thigh.

Bending down to put and expand her trunk, Helen replied "It's a bit short to be a fully formal wear, but fashionable. I like them a bit short anyways." She put up her coat and took a muggle psychology book. settling down on her seat she said, "This actually is quiet plain, I have got a lot of clothes, including skirts, dresses, shorts, tops etc as well as shoes and accessories in various designs and patterns. If you ever want to try some, come to me and I'll find something appropriate for you." Hannah nodded in delight and Susan agreed as well with a thoughtful expression. "Magical community have a very bland fashion sense, I would love to try something new and beautiful."

Helen smiled at her, crossed her legs and opened her book. Very soon though, their peace was broken when their compartment door was opened with a bang and a red headed boy stepped in, "Are you Helen Potter?", he asked rudely, pointing a finger at her.

Annoyed by the interruption and his rudeness Helen asked shortly, "Who are you? And what do you want?"

"I'm Ron Weasley and I'm going to be best friends with the Girl-who-lived. Now, are you her? You don't have the scar though, or the glasses." now named Ron replied with a confused expression on his face.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Ron stared her for a few moments and said "You can't be Helen Potter, you may be pretty, but you don't look anything like her. So, stop wasting my time, I've to find her and become best friends with her." He then hurriedly left leaving the door open. The girls looked at each other and started laughing.

Still laughing Helen got up to close the door. However, she was once again interrupted, this time by a girl with wild hair and a chubby boy. The girl asked, "Hi, did you happen to see a toad, Neville here seemed to have lost his?"

Suppressing a sigh, Helen replied, "No, haven't seen one. Though, I would suggest you find a prefect, and ask them to summon it." Relieved, the girl replied, "thank you, I didn't think of that, we will do that now. I'm Hermione by the way. Hermione Granger." She waved a goodbye and promptly left with the boy in tow.

Closing the door, she sat down and opened her book once again, "I hope we have no more interruptions" she spoke softly. Hannah agreed and closed her eyes for a nap, while Susan also opened a book, charms by the look of it.

Next few hours passed quietly. Both the girls were now napping, with Susan's book laid forgotten. After putting a bookmark, Helen closed the book and put it aside. Getting up, she stretched a bit and went outside.

As she was returning from the loo, she saw the Weasley boy tormenting a couple of girls about Helen Potter's whereabouts. She ducked back into the loo to avoid him, as he had left the girls and was walking in her direction. After making sure the coast was clear, she came out and went to meet the girls. They looked like first years too and seemed to be friends. One had beautiful aristocratic features with blonde hair and blue eyes, which led Helen to assume that she was a pureblood, likely a noble by the way she carried herself. Her companion was a pretty brunette with brown eyes and a seemingly girl next door type.

"Was he bothering you about Helen Potter's location? " Helen smiled "If so, I'm sorry about that."

"Yes, he was. How did you know?" brunette inquired "and why are you sorry about it? "

"He was in our compartment earlier asking the same. And I'm sorry because I lied to him about my identity and whereabouts." she smirked.

The blonde raised an eyebrow "So you're Helen Potter." she stated. The brunette looked at her in shock.

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you."

The brunette continued to stare in shock while the blonde nodded, "Daphne Greengrass". She flicked her eyes to her still shocked friend, "And this is Tracey Davis" she said shaking her head.

"So you two are first years as well?"

Recovering, Tracey answered, "Yes, and most likely dormmates as well, in Slytherin" Excited she asked, "which house do you think you'll get?".

"Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, I think. I wouldn't mind any house though." Looking behind them she asked, "Do you want to join me in my compartment, there are two other girls in there from our year? Also I want to avoid that Weasley boy."

The girls agreed and they went to the compartment to find the girls woken up from their naps. Introductions were made though they were unnecessary as the girls seemed to know each other already.

They all chatted about various topics ranging from sorting, houses, first year curriculum, and Hogwarts itself to noble houses, quidditch, other girls in their year and trends in fashion. Tracey seemed to particularly like Helen's black short wedge heels.

The cart lady arrived and girls each took something to drink or munch on. Remembering the previous interruptions Helen locked the door and discretely put a notice-me-not charm on it, without anyone noticing. She slowly started taking control of the group, subtly directing their discussions, approving whenever someone made some good point and cutting off any girl from discussion for a while whenever they would say something dumb. This way, by the time they were deep into Scotland, all the girls were unconsciously deferring to Helen, and had made her the unofficial defacto leader of the group.

Looking at her small wrist watch, Helen told the girls that they were approaching Hogwarts and should change. Tracey and Daphne went to get their trunks and came back quickly telling them about various students looking for Helen. Helen locked the door again and the girls changed into their Hogwarts uniforms. When Tracey commented on Helen keeping her wedges on, she simply replied "The standard school shoes look hideous."

Finally the train pulled into the Hogsmeade station and the girls got out together. On hearing the calls for first years by an extremely large man, they moved towards the front of train. When all the first years were gathered, the large man, who Helen recognized as Hagrid, took the students down a slippery path towards the lake. At the lake were several small boats, which the students got in, four per boat. Helen told the girls to enter a boat together, while she joined a dark skinned boy and two twin girls of Indian decent.

Making sure that everyone was on a boat, Hagrid shouted "forward" and all the boats started moving together. After making a bend, they were graced by the magnificent sight of Hogwarts castle, lit up against the clear dark sky. Soon they entered a tunnel and were embanking at an indoor dock. After collecting all the students, Hagrid knocked on the large set of double doors.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

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The doors opened and a stern looking woman, dressed in traditional wizarding robes came out. "Thank you Hagrid, I'll take it from here"

"Follow me" Professor McGonagall commanded to the students and took them into a chamber. She turned around and addressed to them, "Soon you all will be sorted into different houses of Hogwarts. These are Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house values different traits and characteristics the most, however, that does not mean that they don't value other traits. Once you are sorted into a house, you'll stay there till the time of your graduation. The house will be like your family and will compete with other houses for the house cup. Points will be awarded for academic achievements, good deeds, forethought and so on. Points will be deducted for rule breaking, poor conduct and general misbehavior. At the end of the academic year the house with the most points will win the prestigious Hogwarts house cup."

She paused and looked over the gathered students, "I'll be back in a few moments and you'll be taken to the great hall. I suggest you utilize that time to sharpen up", she said looking pointedly at Weasley and left. Soon she was back and led us into the Great hall. It was same as in Tom's memories, with the enchanted ceiling, floating candles and five long tables, four parallel to each other for the houses and one staff table at the far end of the hall. The double doors opened in between the Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaw tables with the Griffindor on the extreme left and the Slytherin at the extreme right.

The group came to a stop in front of a three legged stool on top of which rested the sorting hat. After instructing the new students on what to do she started calling out the names. Hannah and Susan both went to Hufflepuff just as they predicted. Tracey and Daphne went to Slytherin. Granger and Longbottom were a surprise though as they landed in Griffindor. Malfoy spawn along with his bookends Crabbe and Goyle ended up in Slytherin.

Soon, Helen's name was called and the whole hall filled with excited chatter. Even the staff looked interested. Helen calmly walked up to the stool and primly sat up on it taking the offered hat from McGonagall and put it on her head. After making sure that the hat cannot tell anyone the contents of her mind she started discussing the best fit for her among the houses. Slytherin and Griffindor were quickly rejected as going to either will eliminate the other from her future circle. Also, both will undermine her efforts of remaining low key. So, it was to be between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. After brainstorming for five minutes they came to a decision and the Hat announced it to the world, "RAVENCLAW".

The Blue and Bronze clad table erupted into loud cheering and clapping. Up on the staff table Flitwick was beaming and clapping enthusiastically. Helen passed the hat back to McGonagall, who she amusingly noticed appeared a bit sad, walked towards the excited table and sat between Mandy Brocklehurst and Padma Patil. They were soon joined by Lisa Turpin who took a seat in front of them with Morag MacDougal and Su Li. Terry Boot, Micheal Corner and Anthony Goldstein completed the group.

Soon, the sorting was over and the dinner was served after a few weird words by the Headmaster. During the dinner, the group started chatting up, mostly asking Helen about her 'adventures' or her 'training', on which she quickly corrected the misconceptions and cleared that the the books were just fiction and she didn't know much about the magical world except for what her aunt told her.

While eating she thought of what she knew and learned about her house mates. Surprisingly, not even a single muggleborn was a first year Ravenclaw. Terry Boot was a pureblood from the minor house of Boot. He had brown hair and light blue eyes with glasses and seemed like a typical Raven, studious. Micheal Corner was halfblood and had black hair and blue eyes and was a bit on the pretty side. He might grow into a heartthrob, Helen thought. Anthony Goldstein was a blonde boy with grey eyes and a halfblood, but from a Wizengamot representing house. Goldstein and Boot would certainly carry some influence in future. All three boys already seemed to be friendly with each other, which Helen thought was a good thing. She wouldn't have to waste time and effect to gel them together.

The girls seemed more of the same as they were making small talk with each other without any undercutting hostility or disdain. Padma Patil was one of the twin daughter of Lord Anil Patil, of the British branch of Ancient House of Patil from India. Her twin, Parvati, was sorted in Griffindor and both had beautiful features with rose biege coloured skin, dark brown eyes and long dark hair. Unlike her twin, who was talking excitedly with a blonde girl, Padma seemed a bit shy and was the second least talkative person in her group. Su Li had that honor as she had barely spoken more than a few works at a time. The Chinese heritage witch had porcelain like skin with dark eyes and hair which she had cut short. Helen knew that Li could trace her lineage back to the Tang Dynasty of China and her family was an important one back in their homeland. Mandy Brocklehurst had wavy blonde hair and green eyes and was a halfblood with no house connections. However, she seemed to be a social butterfly, chatting up with everyone nearby and seemed to be quick-witted. Morag MacDougal was a pureblood but no major house connection. She had a long face with pale skin and dark eyes and straight black hair. She also seemed to be most interested in Quidditch among her group. Last member of her group was Lisa Turpin who had brown eyes and straight brown hair and she seemed to be the most intelligent of the group. Based on initial assessment, Helen liked her the most in her group.

Overall, Helen was satisfied with her group and thought that they had potential to be influential in the future in various fields, with her help and manipulations of course. She estimated that by the end of the year most, if not all, of her year mates would look up to her for leadership and guidance.

Soon, even the dessert was over and the Headmaster rose once more and spoke up the start-of-term speech. "Now that we're all fed and watered, I just have a few notices to give you and then you can retire to your common rooms. First-years should note that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students. A few of our older students would do well to remember that." Helen noted that Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed towards the Gryffindor table where red-headed twins, likely Weasleys' were sitting.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." Morag seemed pretty excited over this, though Helen thought it was unlikely she would get in this year, especially with no brooms allowed for the first years.

Dumbledore continued, "And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." A few students chuckled at this but Helen was intrigued. It was obvious that Headmaster was encouraging someone to go and check it out and that it was some kind of a ruse.

"Now, please follow your house prefects back to your common rooms, first-years should pay attention to where they are going to avoid getting lost in the future. The castle has a way of doing that to people," he finished with a chuckle. "Good night."

Everybody in the great hall stood up and the fifth year prefects rounded up their respective first years to guide them through the maze that was Hogwarts to their common rooms. The Ravenclaw students climbed all the way up to the seventh floor where the entrance was guarded by a bronze eagle door knocker that seemed to come alive as the students approached. The prefects explained that to enter the common room one had to answer correctly the riddle posted by the knocker.

'What is so fragile that when you speak its name you break it?' The eagle spoke and asked them the question to open. Prefects seemed to wait for the first years to answer so Helen replied "Silence". "You may enter," it replied in return and swung open.

The common room, which was in one of the tallest towers, was a beautifully decorated and spacious room, with a domelike ceiling and arched windows providing plenty of daylight during the morning and afternoon. The windows were framed with blue curtains and a midnight-blue carpet covered the floor, matching it to the standard Ravenclaw colours. The room was circular in shape, with a single set of stairs leading up to the student dorms, a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw near the entrance and even a small library to supplement the house of the intelligent.

The prefects turned and addressed the first years, "This is our common room where you may interact with students of different years or access the Ravenclaw library. Please note that books from the Ravenclaw library are not to be taken out of the common room, not to your rooms and definitely not out of the house. We are the only house that has its own library after all. Now follow us."

They took the group up the circular stairs which branched of into separate landings at every quarter turn. They entered the top landing and into an oval room which had multiple doors and cozy rugs, sofas and lounge chairs spread around. They entered through the door at one end of the oval. One of the flatter side of the room had a fireplace with a merry fire already burning and the other side had doors, which Helen presumed were their rooms. The far end of the room had a wide floor to ceiling window, through which they could make out the outline of mountains nearby due to the moonlight. There were row of tables and chairs on either side of the fireplace and another door between window and the tables.

The prefects once again addressed the group, "This is your floor and will remain so for your entire duration in Hogwarts. Now, whereas, every other house separate its student based on gender first and then year, we at Ravenclaw don't separate on Gender basis at all. This is done, due to the fact that it is assumed that we are smarter and more mature than the rest of the houses and thus don't need to divide the students so as to prevent any untowards actions. I hope your group doesn't become the first to disappoint as there has never been any complains till yet. Also, ours is the only house in which you get individual rooms. The doors behind you are the rooms, you may chose among yourselves which room you desire, the door near the window leads to the lavatory and the showers. Get settled in and be up early tomorrow. Be in the common room by 7:15 in the morning as our Head of the house, Prof. Flitwick will address you and then we will take you to the great hall for breakfast. Goodnight."

The group stood awkwardly after being left alone for the first time and with the knowledge that they would be sharing space for the next seven years. Helen took charge of sat in the center of the sofa and said, "Shall we discuss the living conditions and the room selection." The group apprehensively moved forward and joined her. Mandy and Lisa joined her on the sofa and rest took sit on various furniture in a semi-circle with Helen as head.

Soon, the group came to a decision. The boys were to take the first three rooms from the entrance. Micheal Corner took the corner room amusingly, Terry the second and Anthony the third. Lisa took the fourth, Helen was in the centre with fifth, followed by Mandy, Morag, Padma and Su in that order with Su closest to the window.

After breaking the ice for some more time, the group got up to explore their common space. The Lav/shower door was first. It had separate section for both lavatories and showers. Both section had five of the corresponding units. Next they checked out the rooms. They weren't specially large but that was alright as the common space more than made up for it. The rooms were all same, with a bed along one wall, a wardrobe on its opposite wall. There was a full-length mirror and some shelves next to the door and a window on the far wall opposite to the door. Everything was in blue and bronze colours. They found that their rooms now had their initials on the door and their trunks and belongings in the correct rooms.

Soon, they entered their rooms and changed for bed. Helen decided to do a bit of reading before sleeping so she took her book and went back to the lounge room. She was joined by Su who looked oddly at her clothing of purple and black spaghetti and shorts. The boys too came out to go to the lavs and blushed after looking at her exposed legs, and were ignored by Helen who was fascinated by the works on Machiavelli. After reading for an hour she got up, stretched and waved goodnight to Su who was still reading and went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**Note: In my story, in order to completely change the configuration of the room of requirement you need to step out of it and summon it again. However, it can be modified in the same configuration from within. Helen will do both in this chapter, I've posted this here to avoid any confusion.**

**Timetable has been taken from LittleDinghy on red dit, you can find the detailed and most feasible timetable there. It has faults but workable if you check other houses. The original timetable is nonsensical and impossible without the teachers using time-turners.**

**Here's Chapter 5, longest one I've written yet.**

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Next morning after six hours of sleep, Helen woke up at five O'clock. She could have slept much less due to her advanced occlumency but her body was was still very young and needed the rest to grow and be healthy. Thus, she compromised and decided on six hours of sleep. She pulled out a dark robe, donned it and crept out of the Ravenclaw tower. She swiftly moved towards the room of requirement which was, conveniently, very close. She called up the room of hidden things as she had to check for a certain item. After trudging through heap load of stuff she found the item just where it was left by Tom. The not-so-lost diadem of Ravenclaw was resting on top a low pedestal, hidden from view by the huge stack of useless books. She didn't touch it, as she wasn't strong enough to deal with it yet. She went back to the entrance and willed the room to change.

When she entered again, the configuration of the room had changed. Now, it had a shooting range like setup with dummies at the far end. Shrugging off her robe, Helen took out her holly and phoenix feather wand and started casting basic hexes and curses. She was pleased to find that she could do them all on the first try. However, she was disappointed by her magical capacity as she tired only after thirty minutes of casting minor hexes(which was way better than any first year or even a fourth year but this was Helen and she couldn't be satisfied with such 'mediocrity'). She summoned an armchair and sank in it to plan. The problem was that her magic haven't been tested yet to its limit so it was growing at normal rate instead of an accelerated rate and the magical channels through her body were few and narrow. Either she would need to perform magic extensively or she would need to perform certain rituals.

She decided to start pushing her limits as well as start preparing for for rituals. She would need to get to the room everyday to practice without anyone knowing. Good thing she was an early riser as morning would be the best time for practice. She stood up, dismissed the chair and summoned a full length mirror. She took off all her clothes and looked at herself critically. She had a very good physique, for a muggle. Ever since her awakening she had dedicated herself to at least an hour of physical activity everyday, which had kept her in a good shape with no extra fat on her and have stimulated her growth overcoming any shortfalls from her first four years with the Dursleys.

However, magic can make anything better and she decided her body will be so too. She would need several rituals, spread out throughout her growing years to achieve perfection. Toughness enhancement, quicker reactions, enhanced senses, stronger bones, denser muscles and many more. She would need a lot of ingredients, both legal and illegal, easily available and rare. This all would take a lot of time, effort and money, but she had them all. There was no hurry, as she knew that unless Lord Voldemort comes across a really loyal and dedicated follower, he wouldn't be appearing anytime soon. And she know that her family was very rich and influential, like most of ancient and noble families. So, all she had to do was start preparing.

For now though, all she could do was training both magically and physically, former of which she had already finished for today. Thus, she closed her eyes and concentrated to modify the room. She opened her eyes and found a large swimming pool in front of her. Ignoring the changing room that appeared as well, she dove in nude and started swimming in laps and also did some under water swimming. She got out at 6:30, spelled herself dry and put her clothes back on. Then she left the room and quickly entered the Ravenclaw common room. Not finding anyone out yet, she went up to her year's oval room. She went to her room to collect her toiletries and went for a shower. After cleaning up, she donned on a bathrobe and went out to the oval room. On the way, she waved at her still sleepy male year mates stumbling towards the showers. She found Padma already ready in the oval room reading. Wishing her a good morning she went in her room to get ready for the day.

During her visit to Diagon alley, she had asked Madam Malkin about the modifications that were allowed in the uniform. And she was ecstatic to share them with Helen as not many realized you could do so. Apparently, the standard uniform could have a lot of variations as long as it was still decent and adhered to the rules and decorum of the school. For example, while the color or design of the skirt couldn't be changed, the length could be altered within limit. Standard uniform had it at knee length but depending on the height of girl, it could be increased or decreased by up to four inches. Thus, it couldn't be a nun like max length but it also couldn't be a slutty micro-mini. Helen had her skirts adjusted varyingly to be somewhere between mini and above knee length. They also had multiple options in terms of leggings. One could wear socks, knee length to mid-calf or tights, which most girls did anyways during winter or dark stockings/pantyhose. Footwear had options too. One could have short heels, wedged heels along with the standard flats but pencil heels weren't allowed. Similarly, robes also had varieties. You could have floor sweeping, full length, mid-calf or knee length robes which could be open or closed at the front. They were also optional in classes and the school in general except for during breakfast, but the teachers could force you to wear them, so students had to carry them along anyways. Casuals were allowed after class hours, but again only as long as they remained decent.

So Helen decided to educate her peers in fashion and started getting dressed accordingly. After wearing her training bra and plain dark panties, she slid into a pair of black pantyhose and put on a above knee length skirt and an acromantula silk white blouse and tied her blue-bronze tie a bit loose. She put on a light makeup consisting mostly of eye liner and lip gloss. After putting on her full length robe open at front and slipping into a pair of short black heels she was ready to go. She picked up her featherweight bag and went outside to find that rest of the girls had also arrived. When it was five minutes to spare they went to the common room after calling out to the boys. They laughed at the boys when they appeared in a rush just moments before time.

As if he was waiting for his cue, Professor Flitwick entered the common room at sharp 7:15. He gave a short speech, welcoming the first years and explaining how the Ravenclaw house functioned. Each student had to put up their individual marks on all assignments of all subjects on the specified boards in the common room. The prefects would regularly check these and if they find someone lacking, they would be assigned to a senior student to help them until their grades catch up. Prof. Flitwick would help in case of seventh year students or if someone didn't improve even after assignment. This was called the 'buddy' system of Ravenclaw and it was what that kept them at top academically. After informing them on the location of his office, which was always open for his ravens, Flitwick left.

The prefects then quickly took the first years to the great hall and they were all seated and having breakfast by 7:30. Flitwick came around again distributing their timetables. Each class day started at 8:00 and ended at 4:30 in the evening and was divided into six periods of an hour each. Fifteen minutes gap was provided between classes to get from their previous class to the next one. After first three classes there was a lunch break from 11:45 to 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Today, on monday, they had a full day with double history of magic first thing, followed by transfiguration, both with Slytherins. After lunch they had defence against the dark arts and potions both with Hufflepuffs. Their last class of the day was herbology with Griffindors. Rest of their week was much lighter with Wednesdays having three classes (DADA, potions and herbology), Tuesdays and Thursdays having two classes each (Charms and Flying, so basically one class) and Fridays only having a single period of transfiguration. All the first years had a combined class of astronomy on tuesday nights at 10 which lasted for an hour and half.

Helen, having worked up an appetite after her swim, had a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, oats with nuts, berries and honey and some fresh orange juice to finish things off. Her classmates were chatting excitedly about the classes, but she informed them that their first class was going to be a bore. When asked, she informed that the teacher was a ghost and would usually just read from the text in the most sleep inducing manner, and that too only about goblin wars. It didn't deter them though and soon they were moving towards the first floor for their history lesson. Soon they were disappointed though as Helen's info came to be true. Within fifteen minutes of the start of the class most of the class was struggling to remain awake. By half an hour past, half were asleep and rest were chatting among themselves.

A group of girls consisting of Helen, Mandy, Daphne, Tracey and Pansy Parkinson were chatting together in the back. Parkinson was a pureblood of the noble and ancient house of Penkinson and had a cute pug-faced girl with black eyes and long straight black hairs . She was also petty and sadistic and a firm believer of blood purity. Initially, she was hostile towards Helen, but when all she got were polite and neutral answers to her taunts, she became haughty and seemingly disinterested. The girls asked Helen about her different uniform and how she wasn't called out by the staff for it and she told them what Madam Malkin told her. They all seemed interested afterwards and were determined to get some new uniforms during the next holidays. Even Parkinson was interested, while trying to not appear so, but she was fooling no one. At last the bell rang and the sleeping students woke up. Both the Ravens and snakes again had shared class next in form of transfiguration, so they together walked towards the transfiguration corridor on the same floor.

On reaching they found the room open and empty, except for a tabby cat sitting on the teacher's desk. Helen realized that it wasn't a cat but an animagus, likely McGonagall herself. The girls sat together in the center while the remaining ravenclaw students took up the front seat. As Helen was chatting with Tracey and Daphne about daily uses of transfiguration, a clearing of throat notified her of a presence behind her. She turned to find the miniature carbon copy of Lucius Malfoy standing besides her desk flanked by miniature Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy had blonde hair and gray eyes with a pointed aristocratic face. On getting her attention Malfoy started, "Good morning, Heiress Potter. I'm Draco Malfoy, heir to the noble house of Malfoy" with a slight bow. Helen returned a seated curtsy and replied, "Good morning to you too, heir Malfoy. Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance." and presented her hand to him. He took it and lightly pressed his lips to her knuckles. "See you later heiress Potter. Greengrass, Davis." he nodded and went to the back of the class taking the two bookends with him. 'So the Malfoys wanted to test the waters', Helen thought, 'how predictable!'

After the bell rang, students started looking around as McGonagall haven't shown up yet. Suddenly the cat leapt forward and changed midair into the professor. The students were awed and got excited for the class. Helen was interested too as animagus was one of the few talents that Voldemort didn't persue. In fact, transfiguration as a whole was not his focus. That is not to say that he was bad at it, not at all, but he lacked the creativity and imagination needed for the art. He more than made up with his other skills though. Helen planned on becoming an animagus by the end of the year.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. The class was sufficiently impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing furniture into animals for a long time. McGonagall started talking about basic transfiguration theory and limits of transfiguration. The lecture McGonagall was giving finally reached an end and they were given a match to turn it into a needle. Helen knew she could do it on her first try and did so, but quickly changed it back to a match so McGonagall couldn't see. Daphne and Tracey did see it though and were impressed. She started guiding them on the correct wand movements and in the importance of intent. Their matches soon started turning metallic and pointy. Lisa however was the first person to completely turn it to needle and was awarded 10 points for her effort. Now that someone else has done it, Helen too changed her match to needle and awarded 5 points. She now openly started guiding her neighbors and soon Daphne, Tracey and Mandy, who was sitting nearby, completed their work. By the time the bell rang, all the girls had converted the match with most of the boys, apart for Crabbe and Goyle, were almost there. McGonagall gave them an assignment on basics of transfiguration exactly a foot long due by next class.

On the way to lunch, Daphne and Tracey thanked Helen gratefully for her help in the class and went to the slytherin table. Helen joined her housemates sitting between Lisa and Padma, putting some chicken, leek and potatoes in her plate. They discussed the classes they had attended till yet and contemplated how DADA would be. They had heard from seniors that potions was quite tough and that Prof. Snape was extra hard on anyone not wearing the green and silver. Herbology was said to be fine as long as you don't mind the physical aspect of it or all the dirt that you get while doing so.

They finished lunch with still a lot of time left before the next class, so they decided to check out the library. They were not the only one with that idea, as Granger was also moving towards the library. Helen invited her to come along with the group and introduced everyone. They explored the library for half an hour. Helen inquired Granger how she found Hogwarts and her house. Granger, in turn, was very curious about the house of intelligence and asked if it was true that they had a private library. They explored together for half an hour and agreed to be on first name basis by the end of it. They left the library and parted ways on the first floor as Hermione had to go further below to the dungeons for her potions class.

They found the rest of the class already waiting outside the classroom. Prof. Quirinus Quirrell opened the doors and ushered the students in. The class had a overpowering stench of garlic making their eyes water. The class was a huge disappointment and no one could understand much due to Quirrell's stutter.

Helen felt something wrong though. The stutter seemed a bit fake to her and she had an uneasy feeling throughout. Then, suddenly, when their eyes crossed, Helen felt a legilimens attack on her. She quickly managed to summon up feelings of interest for the topic being discussed and hide her shock. As suddenly it came, the attack ended. However, Helen recognized the taint in magical probe. Quirrell was somehow connected to Voldemort! She was rattled. She had thought it would be a long while before she would encounter Voldemort but for Quirrell to have the taint, he had to be in contact very recently. She had thought she had time to get strong but this changed everything. She would have to speed up her preparations, rituals, everything. Calming down a bit, she realized that he wouldn't be able to act immediately or in open. There was the fact the he would still be in a weakened state. And also, Hogwarts was Dumbledore's turf, Voldemort would never attack her. She still remained apprehensive for the remainder of the class and never made eye contact with Quirrell again.

After the class ended, she went to a washroom and psyched herself up. She knew Voldemort wouldn't act right now. He was probably here for whatever Dumbledore had in the third floor right-side corridor. Small panic averted, she purged her nervousness and uncertainty using Occlumency, quickly freshened up and refreshed her makeup.

After all, next was the class she was most interested in. Or rather its professor. She wasn't sure on whose side Snape really was. Was he spying for the dark or was he really working for Dumbledore? She knew he was the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy. She also knew he had a thing for her mother and would have anguished over for being the cause of her death. Not to mention, that she looked very similar to her mother with her reddish hair and exact same emerald eyes, all the while carrying the name 'Potter'. Now, wouldn't that cause confusing feeling for him.

Eagerly, she entered the potions lab and sat in the second row in the direct line of sight from the teacher's desk. Terry and Anthony joined her on either side. Micheal joined up with Mandy and Morag. Right on time, professor Snape entered the class and closed the door with a bang. He started taking a roll call. He paused briefly noticeable at 'Helen Potter' and, when he was finished with the names; started speaking in barely more than a whisper, but everyone heard him. The sense of presence the man radiated was so oppressive that the entire classroom was as quiet as a mouse.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses….. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even stopper death…. If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." 'Well', Helen thought amused, 'he certainly hates teaching'.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly after a moment of silence. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"A very strong sleeping potion, sir." Helen replied. She, of course, knew that powdered Asphodel root and wormwood were the key ingredients for Draught of the Living Death, but didn't wanted to expose her knowledge.

Snape seemed surprised that she knew this much and continued. "Correct and the potion is so strong that its called the Draught of the Living Death. Let's try again, Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"In your potions cupboard," Snape started to sneer, "or in the stomach of a goat if that's what you mean." Helen answered with a mischievous smirk. The other Ravenclaw started to look puzzled towards Helen. Snape seemed to be a bit lost for a second on seeing the very familiar mischievous look. He didn't even reprimand her for the cheek. Instead, gathering himself up, he asked, "Boot, What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Luckily, Boot was very interested in potions and knew the answer, "There is no difference, sir. It is the same plant, also known as aconite."

"That is correct, Mr. Boot, five points to ravenclaw for all the correct answers" he replied, "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

The class started taking notes hastily while Snape continued, "For today, you will make the Boil-Cure Potion. The instructions are on the board", he flicked his wand towards it and the instruction became visible, "and your necessary ingredients are in the cupboard. At the end of the class, you will hand in a sample of your attempt, properly labeled and clean up you working station. Any questions?" Snape explained towards a silent and shuffling class, hurrying to get started.

Helen worked calmly on the potion knowing that she could make it in her sleep. She felt Snape's eyes on her several time during the class. A few times she caught his eye, she gave him an innocent wide-eyed smile, which caused more confusion for him. Once he even probed her mind only to find the next step of the instruction on forefront.

She finished her potion, labeled a sample for grading and brought it to the front, stepping over the mess of a molten cauldron. The Hufflepuff student, Wayne Hopkins, who was responsible for the mess of adding porcupine quills to the mixture before taking the cauldron off the fire, was taken to the infirmary, covered in boils.

She then cleared up her station and waited for the rest of the class to finish up. Snape had now taken the seat behind the desk and was looking over the students finishing up. His eyes were still drawn to her and found hers looking back every time. As the last student submitted their sample, he dismissed the class and quickly went into his office away from those beautiful green eyes.

After thoroughly enjoying the lesson, Helen and the rest of Ravenclaw made way to the green houses for the last class of the day. On the way they met with the Griffindors and together they walked towards the greenhouse where Professor Sprout was waiting on them. They were told to pair up and Helen coupled up with Micheal. The lecture part discussed the syllabus for the first year and what dynamic there was in the class. Homework assignments would be given before the practical sessions so that they would be prepared for handling the plants in Greenhouse 1. As they were given a tour of the greenhouse, Helen recognized mainly harmless flowers and plants, most used for decoration or as food and a few were used as potion ingredients. Helen didn't like the subject much, but it was important and necessary since it was the foundation for potions. Also, as they were being given the tour Helen noted the locations of various plants which she would need for her rituals. It seemed that they didn't trust first-years to correctly follow the instructions which was, as Helen thought back to the boil-incident in Potions class, completely reasonable. Many plants would be studied theoretically only, because they were too dangerous to handle by amateur herbologists.

After the class ended, they their way back to the castle. Helen discussed about dangerous plants they knew about and compared classes with Hermione and Micheal. They parted ways on reaching the seventh floor and the ravens made their way to the Ravenclaw common room. Helen and the others went for a quick shower and changed into casual clothes. She wore a pair of blue tights and a white loose full-sleeved crop top and carried a robe with her. When everyone was back Helen suggested to explore the castle and everyone agreed. They started from the top, from the astronomy tower on seventh floor and went down till the fourth floor finding various interesting landmarks, a few shortcuts which Helen showed them, paintings everyone, occasional busts and statues.

As it approached dinner time, which was from 6:30 to 8:00 in the evening, they skipped the rest and went down to the great hall. Her clothing generated a bit of an interest from the students but since it wasn't inappropriate no one objected. Hermione and a few other muggleborns even looked interested. Helen didn't let the glances and starring bother her and went about getting her dinner. She had steak-medium with peas and roasted carrots and ignored the pumpkin juice. For dessert she had a bit of her favorite treacle tart.

Afterwards, they gathered in the common room and spent some time with rest of their housemates. Helen, Padma and Lisa spend some time with Penelope Clearwater, the fifth year prefect who guided them yesterday, discussing the inner working of Ravenclaw house and the buddy system they had in place for those who were lagging behind academically. Su and Mandy were talking with some second year girls, which included another chinese heritage girl. By the rate of which they were speaking, Mandy had probably found the second year social butterflies and was rapidly gossiping away with them. Morag and the boys were chatting with what seemed like the quidditch team. After a while Helen too joined up with them, as see was also interested in the sport. She knew that, while it would take away some of her time, being on the house quidditch team will mean instant support of the whole house and her word would carry more weight even among the upper years. It would also provide her with more opportunities to influence suitable students into under her wing.

She also took this time to subtly probe the minds of her housemates with legilimency. Her reason of do so here in the common room was multi-fold. Firstly, she wanted to check how many had occlumency shields or natural mind barriers and if someone had any, they wouldn't be able to detect who attacked them in the crowded common room. Secondly, she wanted to see how much influence and sway she already held on them and can they be manipulated further. She started with her year mates and found that none had any barriers whatsoever. This would make things easier she thought to herself. She decided that instead of direct manipulation or brute force she would use a reward system, a carrot and stick approach, to make them unconsciously defer to her and look up to her for approval.

In case of the upper years, she only did a weak surface scan. She found that no one upto the fourth years had any mental barriers. She knew that wasn't the case in the slytherin house. At least, it wasn't so during Tom Riddle's time here. Intriguingly, she found a lot of students infatuated with her both in her year and above. Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Morag MacDaugal and Padma Patil were in awe with her legend. Mandy, Micheal and Lisa were impressed with her intelligence and knowledge and the former two were already swayed by her charisma. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, a few upper years already had some lustful desires for her, including a couple of boys in the quidditch team. 'I guess being the girl-who-lived ought to have some consequences' Helen thought, 'now, whether, to flame these desires or pour water on them. Decisions... Decisions...' She settled on teasing for now as her body was too young for anything else.

Helen judged that she had socialized enough. Getting up she stretched a bit and felt a few eyes on her bare midriff. Smiling brilliantly, she wished everyone goodnight, gave a look to her year-mates and went upstairs. It was still quite early but she had planned certain extra-curricular activities for the next morning and had to be up really early for them. She went to her room and changed into a red silk nightgown and went to the lav. Out in the oval, she found year-mates coming up as well following her lead. After using the facilities, she found them reading/ talking in the lounge. She chatted up a bit more with, subtly approved them for following her up and implanted relish for her approval in their minds via legilimency. After wishing another goodnight, she went to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**Another 5k words chapter. (Pats on own shoulder)**

**I welcome all constructive criticisms and reviews. Also, PM me if you find any glaring errors or mistakes. I do my own beta-reading so there are bound to be some errors.**

**There's a lot going on in this chapter, so let's get on with it.**

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Helen woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning. She grabbed a robe and quietly snuck out of her room in the empty oval room. Cautiously, she went down stairs and on finding no one in the common room, quickly went out. On approaching the entrance of room of requirement she promptly summoned a ritual room.

Entering inside, she wished the doors away and made the room sound proof. It was necessary as the ritual she was going to perform today was simple but loud. And by loud she meant there was to be screaming. A lot of screaming. Or shrieking, or roaring, or howling, or whatever you call it. The ritual wasn't dark or sinister, it was rather of neutral alignment. The problem was that the ritual consisted of directing as much ambient magic as one could through one's body causing the magic to burn their way through the magical channels, expending them and creating new ones. This was an extremely painful process and hence the screaming.

The rate of magic flowing through the body depended on the level of ambient magic in the area. Thus, Hogwarts was both a good and a bad place to do this ritual, depending on how you looked at it. Good, because the result would be better and bad because more ambient magic meant more intense pain.

She couldn't use any magic during the ritual without risking some interference, so no muffling charms, no pain dampening potions, nothing. The ritual was of old Sumerian origin and was extremely dangerous. There was no control mechanism to stop the flow of magic, except by the user oneself. If during the ritual, the user passed out because of pain or whatever reason, the flow wouldn't stop and will end up burning the body completely, killing the user. There was a risk of a cardiac arrest as well of course, due to the pain. Not to maintain seizure. Can't forget that.

Shaking off the morbid thoughts, she started preparing. This ritual didn't need any ingredients, just a simple runic circle with the user starting in the center. Helen completed the circle in twenty minutes and checked it over for any mistakes. After finding no errors, she left the ritual site, stripped herself putting her clothes in the corner and laid her wand on top of them. She willed the lights in the room to dim causing the glowing blue runes to stand out even more. After checking the circle for a last time, she stepped in and stood in the center.

She took a deep breath and channeled magic into the activation rune. Immediately, her world turned into pain. Pain was all she knew. Pain so intense that even the most powerful cruciatus curse from Voldemort would feel like a tickle in comparison. She only managed a few seconds of silence before she opened her mouth and Wailed! Her eyes were open but she couldn't see anything. All her senses were useless and all she felt was excruciating pain. Every fiber of her being screamed.

She somehow managed to remain aware of the connection with the activation rune which was pulling at her magic. After what seemed like an eternity, which was in reality only about a minute, she couldn't bear the pain any longer. So, with a gargantuan effect, she cut of the magical connection and collapsed on the ground. She laid there for a while with her limbs spasming occasionally. She could still feel the agony caused by the violent stream of magic that she had subjected herself too.

She wished a mattress and rolled over into it and laid there thinking. She had just done a very risky and dangerous ritual. Almost all the old Sumerian rituals were like that. The reason was that almost all of them were rudimentary and had little or no control system. The ancient Sumerian wizards were all power hungry and were willing to risk their very beings to gain more of it. Thus, the reason their civilization ended a long time back. However, their texts survived and Voldemort had gotten his hands on some it while on his travels. He had performed this very same ritual once but didn't get much of a return for it because he was already in his late 20s by the time and the magical channels in his body had already developed and matured. This ritual was efficient only when magical channels haven't had the opportunity to develop much, so basically in young children. But that also increased its risks, as children don't have strong control and awareness of their magic implying that they couldn't cut off the magic flow causing them to burn from inside out.

It was best to use this ritual early in life and it could only be used efficiently only 5 to 6 times max, as it had a diminishing return after every use. The violent nature of the ritual was also its biggest merit as the magic 'pushed' through the body, making way for itself. And Helen could feel the results. Her channels were expanded considerably and there more of them with several new channels running along inside her body.

But when she thought of her magical channels, she meant it in a metaphysical way. There weren't any physical channels in her body through which the magic flowed. Right now, she was physically same to any muggle girl. She was, of course, going to change that via physical enhancement rituals, but those didn't create anything extra in the body. They merely augmented what was already present. To grow extra body parts or re-grow lost limbs or such, one needed different kinds of rituals. But those weren't her concern for now.

Casting aside the tangential thoughts, she sat up and immediately moaned as her body ached all over. Pushing through the pain she stood up. She swayed for a few seconds and remained still till the world stopped wobbling. Stumbling her way towards her clothes, she picked up her wand. Casting a 'tempus' charm, she saw it was 4:30 and she had been lying for almost an hour. She started casting a few charms and performed some transfigurations on small objects provided by the room. She immediately noticed that her magic was now more efficient and a very little of it was wasted. She performed some mid level hexes and curses and found that she could do them for a while even with her current magical potential.

Satisfied, she decided to forego swimming today, for the fear of drowning, and summoned a mat to practice Yoga. After practicing for a hour, her body had stabilized and the spasms were gone. After a last few stretches, she wore her clothes and went back to the Ravenclaw tower. After checking the coast was clear, she climbed to first year landing and entered to oval room. As it was not even 6 o'clock she pulled out her current favorite book 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli, curled up on the armchair by the window and continued where she had previously left off.

Thirty minutes later, when her housemates started coming out of their rooms, she closed the book, marking the page and got up to get on with the day. She greeted Padma and Lisa, who both were also early risers and went to get ready. Half an hour later, she was back in the oval wearing her altered uniform and chatting with Padma about her family.

The Patil family was an important one back in India and could trace their lineage back to the times of Ashoka, the emperor of India in 3rd century BC. It also meant that they had one of the greatest collection of books and scrolls in ancient Sanskrit. Helen was very interested in these texts as they contained the origins of _Parseltongue_ and its uses in magic. Helen didn't know Sanskrit but was determined to learn it. Padma, of course, knew the language, as it was taught to all magical children in Indian families. Helen persuaded Padma to teach her and mentally implanted a positive feedback when she agreed. She didn't influence her decision but rather reinforced the feeling of positivity for helping and advancing Helen.

By quarter past seven everyone was ready and they left together. Morag was especially excited as they will be having their first flying lesson today. They reached the great hall while discussing about various quidditch teams, though Helen didn't contribute much as she didn't know anything about professional quidditch. When asked about her favorite team, she admitted that she didn't know much. This led to Morag blanching in horror and led to Helen being educated on the intricacies of professional quidditch, the league system, the British and Irish teams throughout the breakfast. Terry, Anthony and Micheal also threw in some pointers frequently.

Soon it was time for charms though and they went up to the third floor to the charms corridor to access the class. They had this class with the Griffindors however Helen decided to sit with Su, instead of Hermione or another Griffindor, mostly because they were already seated when the Lions came in. Professor Flitwick climbed on top of a stack of books and started with a roll call. As he got to Helen's name, he squeaked and promptly toppled as the stack collapsed under him, caused the class to uproar in laughter. Getting up and smiling sillily, Flitwick finished the roll call and started the class.

"Good morning, I am Professor Flitwick. I'm the resident Charms Master here at Hogwarts and, as some of you already know, the Head of House Ravenclaw."

"Now, can anyone tell me exactly what charms are?"

The class continued this way with questions and Flitwick kept the class engaged. Finally, they were allowed to practice the simplest of charm, the color changing charm. Again, Helen kept to her policy of not succeeding in the task first. She didn't had to wait for long as soon Hermione had earned 10 points for being the first to change her white feather to Griffindor red. However, Helen did manage to awe Su by changing her plain feather into rainbow colored one, with one color blending into another. She switched it to Blue and Bronze of Ravenclaw, before anyone else could see it though. She spent rest of the class guiding Su to achieve the colorful variety, which she partially did by getting four different colors on it. Flitwick gave her 5 points for her effort causing the small girl to blush prettily.

The class ended as the bell rang and the ravens decided to spend the free period in the library. Helen's way was blocked though by an angry Redhead. "You lied! You said you weren't Helen Potter, The-girl-who-lived!" Weasley accused pointing a figure in her face.

Annoyed, Helen replied, "I actually never said so. You just assumed because I don't look like how I'm 'supposed' to look."

Weasley continued, "You could have told me! I would have properly guided you to be a proud Griffindor, instead of a bookish nerd" Her group's expression changed from amused to annoyed quickly at that.

Tired of this interaction Helen irately said, "I didn't felt like correcting you after your rather rude behavior and now that you've offended me, I don't want to talk to you anymore." and swiftly left, leaving the bewildered boy behind.

Perceiving her anger, her dorm-mates left her alone to cool down. Helen wasn't really angry though, just irritated and was containing herself to not to blast the fool through a wall. To take him off her mind, she decided to fill the gaps in the knowledge she had received from Voldemort.

Tom Riddle, later Lord Voldemort, was extremely powerful and lightening fast with his wand, but he was rather one dimensional and had a narrow skill set. He was only ever interested in power, combat and torture. So, while his knowledge of curses, hexes, charms, dark arts and rituals was best bar none, he was just average in everything else. For example, in the field of transfiguration, he was proficient in battle transfiguration and conjuring, he was mediocre at all other branches like animate transfiguration or inanimate to animate transfiguration. Riddle didn't bother much with literary or philosophical subjects and neither with subtle or systematical approaches. He put emphasis on brute styles of magic and combat. This was clearly seen in the ways he used legilimency. He used to bombard the mind barriers of his targets with excessive force and leaving them in a vegetable state on the rare occasions they survived.

So despite having a lot of knowledge, Helen had to relearn everything as she found his approach unsuitable for her. There was also the fact that while she had the knowledge, she didn't had the experience. She knew she wouldn't be able to match the magical strength of Voldemort by the time he comes back, not when he had a 50 years head start, so she had to come up with a different approach. So, instead of a Zweihänder or a claymore, she had to be a dagger in the dark.

Helen was also very interested in Elemental magic. Elemental magic dealt with the manipulation of various forms of the basic elements _viz_. Earth, Fire, air and water and their combinations. Ice elemental was a combination of water and fire elements. Helen was most interested in lightening though. It is one of the most difficult form of magic to perform and to control but once you master it you could shoot lightening from your fingertips! This was another advantage of elemental magic that, once mastered, it could be performed wandlessly. There were only a handful of elemental master in the whole world though. Dumbledore was one, a water elemental.

Everyone was born with an affinity to a single element, but it didn't matter much in the long run as with practice and dedication one could become master of any elemental form. The affinity just make it easier to control that particular element. Coincidentally, both Voldemort and Helen had affinity for fire.

There were 2 other fields of magic that she wanted to learn but weren't taught in Hogwarts anymore, namely, Alchemy and Enchanting.

Alchemy was a branch of magic and an ancient science concerned with the study of the composition, structure and magical properties of the basic elements, as well as the transmutation of substances; it was thus intimately connected with Potion-making, chemistry and transformation magic. Nicolas Flamel was the most famous Alchemist in the world for having created the holy grail, Philosopher's stone. While she wouldn't mind getting her hands on it, Helen was more interested in other Alchemy Elixirs such as the strengthening elixirs, elixir of the Mongoose, Purification elixir and so on. While most of the effects of the elixirs could be achieved by rituals, they were much riskier and painful. If you knew alchemy, all you had to do was chug some flasks and _voila_, you had the desired result.

Enchanting was the branch of magic concerned with altering an object permanently. The alteration could either be physical or meta-physical. For example, you could take a wooden block, transfigure it into a beautiful glass figurine and enchant it to remain so for rest of its existence, or you could take the same wooden block and enchanted it to produce light. While alchemy was a very creative and free flowing branch of magic, Enchanting was, by its very nature, structured and systematic.

Helen decided that instead of studying the same material again, she would focus her time in Hogwarts to overcome Voldemort's deficiencies and to study esoteric branches of magic. After all she was a Ravenclaw. Coming out of her musing, she pulled out a potions reference book and a book on animate transfiguration. She went to a secluded corner away from her classmates and started reading.

She closed the books when the period-ending bell rang and placed them back into the correct shelves. She then joined her dorm-mates (roommates?) and together they went out to the Quidditch pitch for their first flying lesson. They found the Hufflepuff members already waiting. Helen greeted Susan and Hannah and made acquaintance with rest of the Hufflepuff year-mates.

Madam Hooch arrived with a broom on her shoulder and ordered the girls to go to the changing room and wear something appropriate for flying. Helen had the Ravenclaw girls pack a pair of tights in their bags earlier in the morning for the same reason. Pleated skirts and brooms together meant exposed knickers. The Hufflepuff girls had to make do with the pants provided in the changing room. When they returned, there were two rows of brooms lying on the ground. The brooms were so old that Helen thought they might be the same one Riddle used to learn flying.

Hooch ordered them to stand in the row with broom on their dominant hand side. When everyone was it position, Hooch instructed them to hold their hand out over the broom and in clear voice command it up. Everyone did as instructed. Helen said "UP" and the broomstick jumped straight into her hand. She glanced around to see who else managed to do the same. Morag had her's in her hand and so did Anthony and Su. Over in Hufflepuff only Macmillan had got it. Terry somehow managed to get hit in the face by his broom. Most of the students got it on their second or third try. Hannah's broom however just kept rolling over the ground. Hooch asked her to just pick it up.

She then showed them the proper way to mount and grip the broom. After correcting those who had it wrong, she taught them how to kick off the ground, hover a bit and then come back down. All the students followed her instructions to a varying degree. Helen along with a few other managed to rise steadily and hovered a few feet above ground. Most of the students rose shakily and wobbled in place.

Hannah, however, just shot up with a scream and kept going until she had risen about a 100 feet, when suddenly her broom jerked and she lost her grip. Everyone froze as Hannah started her free-fall. Then suddenly, Helen rocketed up. Half-way to Hannah, she came to an abrupt stop and started drifting downwards slowly all the while keeping her eyes on Hannah's falling figure. As she closed in, Helen increased her speed to match hers and snagged her with one arm, guiding her to the broom. With the other hand she pulled out of the dive to flatten her trajectory and came to a halt a foot above the ground several yards away from the crowd, with Hannah clinging to her back. She gently eased the arms around her and got both of them down on the ground. Hannah hugged her shuddering "I thought I was going to die" she cried. "As if I would let that happen to my friend" Helen replied soothingly while rubbing her hand in a circle on her back.

Hooch and the rest of the group had approached by then "In all my years I haven't ever seen someone fly like that. Where did you learn to do that?" Helen blushed slightly on gaining everyone's attention and replied "That was my first time on a broom." Hooch was astonished and muttered something about 'natural' and 'ronski faint'. She came to her senses quickly however, and started checking Hannah. Despite not finding any injury she took her to the Hospital, but not before ordering no brooms in the air. She returned soon and the class continued normally after that. As the class ended they headed for lunch.

Morag was super excited by Helen's stunt and explained to her what 'Wronski Feint' was. She informed her that quidditch was in her blood as James Potter was also a great player and would have made into the national team if not for the war. She encouraged her to try for the Quidditch team to which Helen eventually agreed. Other Hufflepuff too showed their gratefulness for her actions and thanked her sincerely for saving one of them. They were the house of Loyal after all.

After lunch, Helen headed for the library, Padma and Anthony tagging along with her. They met Daphne and Tracey at the entrance and decided to commandeer a table together. Helen picked up the potions book again and sat down, while the others browsed nearby. Before she could even read a single word though, Malfoy showed his pointy face and asked permission to sit with her. She allowed him to do so.

After taking the closest seat, Malfoy spoke in a confident voice, "Miss Potter you're new to our world so I wanted to give you an advice. You'll find that some wizarding families are better than others. You don't want to do making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Helen smiled and replied, "Thank you Mr. Malfoy, that's very nice of you" as Malfoy started smirking, she continued, "Though I'm curious as to how you think I'm making friends with the wrong sort as you put it." She looked at Daphne and Tracey approaching, "Were you referring to my companions? Or were you referring to Miss Patil and Mr. Goldstein?", she glanced at the pair hovering by the nearest bookshelf "I wonder what their Lord fathers would feel about the Heir Malfoy's opinion of them. They would surely be devastated."

Malfoy paled and went white as a sheet obviously imagining what his father would do if he heard about this insult. He quickly made excuses and rushed away. Helen chuckled a bit at the little boy trying to play the big game.

Helen then immersed herself into the potions text. It described in detail why the steps were done in the way they were done. Why Porcupine quills when added to a lit cauldron had such an explosive reaction? How adding a counter-clockwise stir to a potion after an series of clockwise stirs changed its properties? She got so engaged in the book that she didn't even notice her friends leaving. After a solid 3 hours of reading she noted the page she was on and closed the book. Realizing her friends had been long gone and that she was alone, she decided to go check the forbidden corridor on the 3rd floor.

As she left she checked the time. It was 3:40 so most of the students and teachers would be in the classes. Going down a floor she approached the forbidden corridor. She became cautious and expanded her magical senses as she entered the corridor. She didn't find anything out of ordinary until the last door. Here she detected a ward on the door frame. On inspection she found it was a simple perimeter ward which would let the caster know that the ward was tripped but nothing else. So the identity of the trespasser would remain unknown.

This certainly was Dumbledore's work. She was now sure he was trying to lure someone, likely Voldemort himself she thought remembering her encounter with Quirrell yesterday, based on the usage of this specific ward. He could have used any other type of perimeter ward which could have given him much more information but he used one of the simplest, probably to lure the target into a false sense of security.

She took out her handkerchief and transfigured it into a yard long stick with a hooked end. She then carefully pushed the door with it making sure no part of her body would trip the ward. What she found inside shocked her. There was a huge hell hound napping, drooling over the floor. It didn't wake up due to her quiet approach so she spent a moment to observe what see was seeing. The Cerberus was about 9 foot tall, obviously had three hands and a dark brown fur. Most importantly one of its paw was lying on a trapdoor. After making sure there wasn't anything all of importance in the room, she carefully closed the door using the hooked end and left the corridor after cancelling her transfiguration.

Dumbledore was either crazy or whatever he was guarding was very important, if he could justify having a Cerberus is a school of full of children. They were called hell hounds for a reason and were considered a borderline xxxxx category beasts. They had immense strength and were very agile despite their bulk, along with razor sharp teeth that could chew iron and magic resistant skin and fur. A pack of Cerberus could tear through an army with ease.

Now even more curious, Helen decided to amp up her enchanting studies as she had a particular item in mind that would be useful.

On reaching the oval she found the rest of her dorm-mates (Oval-mates?) engaged in some activity or the other. Lisa and Padma were playing wizarding chess by the window. Terry was lounging in a love seat with the potions text in his hand but his eyes were on the game of exploding snap going on next to him which everyone else was playing. Helen waved at them all and went to freshen up and changed into a black pinstriped T-shirt dress with a belt and white sneakers. She took out a text on organic chemistry and joined the rest in the oval. She had Terry scooch over so she could join him on the love seat. Crossing her legs she opened her book on her lap but like Terry, her mind was on the game in progress. They all laughed when Mandy got the exploding card. Padma and Lisa joined them too with books in hand after their match (Padma won) was over. They all enjoyed a few more rounds like so, with occasional explosions and accompanying laughter and very little studying.

After the last game, Su asked Helen about her skill in charms quoting the rainbow feather she had produced in the class. When all expressed interest, Helen decided to showoff a bit and changed the color of all the walls with the same effect as earlier. Everyone looked in amazement and begged her to teach them to do so. She agreed and soon they were trying to match her work. On being questioned why she didn't do the same in front of the class or professor, she professed modesty and said she didn't want any more fame than her already had. Grateful as they were, her friends agreed to keep her secret.

At 6:30 they left for dinner while having a discussion on role of chemistry in potion making. They found dinner already in full swing when they entered the great hall. Immediately, Hannah called Helen to join her on the Hufflepuff table. She waved her dorm-mates (floor-mates?) to continue to the Ravenclaw table, who were still discussing chemical reactions on different ingredients. Shaking her head in amusement, she joined Hannah at the edge of the first year Hufflepuff group. After putting together her dinner (beans and green salad) she joined in the current discussion. During dinner the boy next to her introduced himself "Hello, Heiress Potter, I'm Cedric Diggory, it's nice to make your acquaintance" he said with a polite smile. He was a handsome boy with light boy hair and kind brown eyes who seemed very friendly and good-natured. Helen returning her own charming smile "Helen Potter, a pleasure to meet you" she said offering her hand. He took her hand and after bowing, touched her knuckles with his lips. Hannah and Susan, who was sitting in front of her, swooned. Smirking at her companions, Helen started chatting up with Diggory.

Diggorys' were a neutral pureblood house who had a seat in the Wizengamot and if she wasn't mistaken, Cedric was the only heir. They talked throughout the dinner on topics ranging from her muggle upbringing, his electives (runes and CoMC) and why he chose them, his family history and their business, Quidditch and his hopes of getting selected as Seeker, her skill with the broom and various other things. At the end of dinner, he helped her up, "It was nice talking with you, Heiress Potter" he said courteously.

"Same for me, Heir Digg..." "Please call me Cedric" he interrupted with a smile.

"Very well, It was same for me, Cedric. Hope we meet up again." she replied with a ladylike smile "You may call me Helen" and offered her hand.

He bowed and kissed her hand again "Goodnight, Helen." and left with his year-mates.

Hannah and Susan immediately swarmed her, gushing about her tête-à-tête with Cedric. Apparently, he was the heart-throb of the Hufflepuff house and most of the the girls harbored a crush on him. She saw the truth of that in the jealous look she was getting from a few upper years. She didn't let it bother her though. She was also quite interested in the boy, as she found him to be a well mannered and gentlemanly as well as attractive. Both that was for the future as she was still too young. It would cause an uproar if she started dating at eleven.

The girls left soon too, citing a need for nap before their late night astronomy class. Helen agreed to that and joined her dorm-mates to ascend to the Ravenclaw tower to get a little kip of her own. They woke up and 10 and made their way towards the astronomy tower without changing into uniforms, as astronomy was the only class in which other clothing was allowed, and considering the timing of the class it would have been a useless bother. They returned at midnight and promptly went to sleep.

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**Kindly Review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**This story is rated 'M' for a reason.**

**For those who have asked me what Helen looks like (or rather will look like) check this link out: ****assets. popbuzz ****2019 / 10 / barbara-palvin-1552497687-view-1 . jpg (remove spaces, add . and a com and a / after popbuzz)**

**Just imagine her with green eyes and dark red hair. I'll try editing the picture for the cover but I'm pants at photo-shopping. If anyone can help me with this, please PM me.**

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The rest week progressed normally and everyone started settling in a routine. Wednesday started slow for the first years because of the late astronomy class last night. Helen woke up at 6:30 (late for her) and lazed in the oval knowing none of her dorm-mates will be getting up anytime soon as their first class was after lunch. She started working on her little enchanting project laying in the runes for its primary function. She worked on it for 45 minutes and then put the away. She elected to ease off a bit after that and relaxed on the sofa. Her dorm-mates found her daydreaming in the same state while still in her nightie. She joined them and got ready for the day and together they went for a late breakfast.

It was Sunday and Helen reflected on her first week in Hogwarts. She had enjoyed playing with Snape's emotions for a second time on Wednesday, and had avoided eye contact with Quirrell altogether. She had decided to deviate from her modus operandi of under performing for the potions class and to do her best, just to poke at Snape a bit more as her mother was also an adept in the art of potion making. Rest of the classes went normally and they were given a few assignments to complete. In herbology class, Sprout had given her 30 points for handing over a pair of dragonhide gloves. Helen of course knew it was for saving Hannah.

Due to the light schedule for rest of the week, Helen ended up with a lot of free time and used it to work on her extra-curricular subjects.

Padma started teaching her Sanskrit on Friday and was surprised by her quick grasp of alphabets and their distinct pronunciations. She obviously didn't know of the benefits of Occlumency having never even heard of it. Helen decided not to enlighten her and simply let her think that she had an aptitude of languages.

Yesterday morning she had completed her second ritual. She had snuck into the room of requirement early, as was routine for her by now. The ritual was an Akkadian one and required a few commonly found ingredient with one exception, Jaybay grapes. Jazbay grapes were a magical fruit that grew only in the highlands near Aleppo in Syria, where the ancient Akkadian Empire once existed. She had to owl order them from a specialist provider based in Liverpool. The magic fortification ritual was aptly named because that's exactly what it did. It strengthened the magical capacity of the user by a small amount permanently. This ritual was usually performed periodically over a few years enhancing the natural growth of magical core. Anyone could perform this ritual, but like most rituals, this too gave the best results when used at an early development stage. Tom Riddle never performed this ritual as he wasn't patient enough and there were darker alternatives available for it, which gave faster results but also side-effects in form of disfiguration. Something that was unacceptable for Helen as she rather liked the way she looked and thought the beauty was one of the most important tools she had.

The ritual wasn't too complex and in contrast to her last one, was quite safe, with only one temporary side-effect of minor magical exhaustion. It was the reason she did the ritual on Saturday.

Magical core was one of the most misunderstood concept in the wizarding world. People thought of it as a source of magic inside their body, but in reality it was more of a battery. Wizards and witches didn't generate any magic rather their body stored what it absorbed from the environment. It was the size of the storage as well as the rate at which they could use the stored magic that determined the strength of a wizard. A wizard who had a big storage but couldn't use the magic at a quick rate or in huge amounts would be a waste of potential. Similarly, another wizard who could use magic quickly but had small capacity would end up exhausted within minutes in any prolonged endeavor.

The rituals she had done so far addressed both the factors. The first ritual improved her channels which would increase the threshold of the rate of use of magic (i.e. she could now use more magic per unit time) while also increasing the efficiency and the second one increased her magical storage capacity or the 'magical core'.

The squibs were a bit of an anomaly, by being on a one extreme end of the spectrum. They had a magical core but had no magical channels. It was the reason they could perceive and see magic but couldn't perform it. They couldn't even make potions as a potioneer contributed a bit of their magic to act as a catalyst in the reactions of ingredients. Muggles didn't have any magical core at all.

She had also continued with her physical training altering between swimming, yoga and aerobics to keep her in a tip-top shape. She planned on adding some form of martial art to her repertoire later on. She deliberated on asking Su about it, while also trying to convince her to teach her Cantonese. Su being a member of the Tang dynasty would certainly know Cantonese as it was one of the oldest dialect of old Chinese still in use and was the closest one could get to the ancient Chinese language.

Chinese wizards in the past had dabbled extensively into alchemy in order to find some source of immortality for their emperors. They were unsuccessful as far as its known but still their knowledge was deep and immense.

Helen had also completed her little enchanting project and now possessed a scrying portal which she planned on installing in the forbidden third floor corridor. The portal was of simple design consisting of two wooden square panels one larger than the other. The smaller one would act as the 'camera' part and would be installed in the location while the bigger one was for viewing what was happening in the vicinity of the smaller.

It had taken Helen the whole week because of making the receiver completely undetectable to anyone but herself. The portal also had an alert system in place, so that it would notify Helen whenever someone walked in corridor and it would automatically record up to 15 minutes of footage of each such occurrence. The actual enchanting part of the project took a whole day as she had to put in multiple functions in the 3 inches by 3 inches small wooden panel.

The panel was completely covered with runes including a recording rune each for visual and audio, a rune for storage, runes for damage resistance, runes to pull ambient magic to power it up, the whole backside was full of anti-detection runes and charms and the edges were left for the actual enchanting purpose. The 'viewing' tab had much less work done in comparison with a variation of protean charm, some notice-me-not charms and a password protection of would be placing the recording device early in the morning tomorrow.

For now though, she was relaxing by the great lake with her girl friends. The group included Helen, Padma, Mandy and Lisa from Ravenclaw, Susan and Hannah from Hufflepuff and Daphne and Tracey from Slytherin. Morag still had to complete her assignments so she decided to stay behind. Su stayed too as she wanted to get ahead in her reading. They couldn't find Hermione in the great hall so they went on without her. Helen had a stray thought that this group, with a few more additions, could be her future clique or inner council similar to Voldemort's inner circle.

She was broken out of her reverie of tattoo designs by a yelp from Tracey. The gaint squid had decided to come out and play close to them while Tracey had her feet in the water. Helen laughed at friend's fright and told her that the creature was very friendly. Tracey was still not convinced, so Helen choose to have some fun to ease her distress. She transfigured her under garments into modest swimwear and removed her outer clothes. Before the others even realized what she was planning, she ran up and a whoop dove in the lake. Her friends were flabbergasted as they saw their friend playing with a squid 20 times her size, being tickled by it and being tossed into the air, squealing in delight. They did ease up after a few minutes when they realized that the squid was indeed friendly but still couldn't summon the courage to get in the lake. They did caress the tentacle which deposited their friend back on the rock they were lying on.

Thoroughly satisfied, Helen dried herself and put her clothes on. She then laid down on the rock with her friends and enjoyed the sun till lunch. At lunch, she sat with Morag and Su, both having completed their respective work in time. Morag was excited as Quidditch tryouts were announced for coming Saturday. Helen was already planning to try for the seeker position. Professors Flitwick and Hooch, on separate occasions, had 'suggested' her to try of the team assuring her that the no broom rule for the first years wouldn't be a problem.

Next week went more or less the same as the first one. She had planted her 'camera' portal on the side wall next to the Ceberus's door early in the morning on Monday. So far, only a few curious students had approached the corridor.

She had also met with the infamous Weasley twins during a lunch break and unlike their brother she had liked them right from the start.

They had approached Ravenclaw table and stood in front of her.

"Good morning..." Twin on the left begin

"Is it still morning?" the twin on the right interjected

Checking his watch the left one replied "It's 11:59, so yes it is still morning"

"Oh!, alright then" said right twin

Cleaning his throat the left one continued, "As I was saying, before my slightly handsomer brother intervened, Good morning, miss Potter, I'm Fred"

"And I'm George, the handsomer brother" right one added

"And we are the Weasley twins! at your service." they finished simultaneously with an exaggerated bow.

"Good morning, Mr. Fred and George Weasley" Helen replied amused with their entices "How can I help you?"

"We heard that our brother tried harassing you..."

"And you put him down in his place..."

"with just a few words..."

"which we doubt he actually understood..."

"slightly dim, our brother is..."

"dropped on his head too many times when he was young..."

"might even be our fault..."

"but anyways..."

"Yes, anyways..."

"We congratulate you..."

"and will try to talk him into..."

"not bothering you again..."

"and..."

"if that fails..."

"we'll prank him mercilessly."

Helen grinned at them "Thank You...?"

"No, thank you, my lady" replied Fred

"Now, if you would excuse us," said George

"we have a wayward brother to find, Shall we?" Fred said turning to his twin

"Indeed, we shall, my slightly smarter brother" George replied and they were off.

Her classmates looked on in surprise and astonishment, while Helen continued laughing for next few minutes.

XXXXX

It was Saturday morning and time for Quidditch tryouts. Helen had been up early to practice some elemental magic and did only some light yoga to stretch and loosen her muscles. She had decided to try for the seeker spot in the team. After eating a light breakfast, she joined the rest of her house out on the quidditch pitch. She was dressed in muggle sportswear, black short sleeved T-shirt and tight pants with a robe over it and sport shoes on her feet. She spotted professor Flitwick sitting in the stands watching the proceedings.

There were two spots open in the team, one of the chasers and the seeker having left last year. Newly appointed captain and one of the chasers was a 5th year Robert Hilliard. He was of a lean build and had a mind for strategy. The other chaser was Roger Davies, a 3rd year. He had dark hair and blue eyes and was a bit of a Casanova. Helen had to admit that he was handsome, if a bit too sure of himself. The senior most member of the team was Eliza Doyle, beater from 7th year and her partner was Chester White from 5th year. Their keeper was young but talented 4th year Ethan Taylor.

Hilliard quickly had the hopefuls gather at the edge of the pitch, while the rest of the house went up to the stands. "We do things a bit different in Ravenclaw. For those who are new to tryouts," he eyed Helen and Morag, who had joined her "You have to first qualify for tryouts, before even getting a chance. There is a minimum physical and skill requirement as we don't want to waste time on unfit or non-competent hopefuls. So, first up you have a 1.5 mile run around the pitch and you have to complete it in 18 minutes or you're disqualified." Several of the hopefuls looked nervous at this and even Morag looked unsure. "Alright get ready" He set his watch and raised his wand in the air, "Set and Go!" a bang omitted from his wand and they were off.

Within minutes it was clear that about half of the 20 hopefuls wouldn't make it as they huffed and puffed along the perimeter of the pitch. Soon people were dropping of left and right and a few stubborn ones even fainted after overexerting. Helen had an easy time with the run, which while wasn't her normal form of exercise, was still easy enough for her physically fit body. She had already finished the distance by 16th minutes along with a few senior years. Morag and Cho Chang were the last to finish under the qualifying time as they barely managed to do so with a last 100m sprint and promptly collapsed afterwards.

"Now, you have 2 minutes of rest" Hilliard addressed the 10 qualified candidates, "and then you'll have the second round of qualifications where you have to fly 10 laps around the Quidditch pitch within 3 minutes" at this a lot of them looked confident, "on a school broom" he added smirking evilly. The confident looks were replaced by horror struck ones.

He had them do the laps one by one and surprisingly, only 2 candidates were disqualified at the end of it.

After assembling the final 8 contenders he explained, "We have 2 openings in the first team and 2 as the reserves. First team openings are for the position of seeker and a chaser, as you already know. The reserve openings can be for any position though we prefer to fill these positions with players who can play in multiple positions. Any questions? No, then first the chaser tryout will begin and the seeker will be held after that. The reserves will be chosen last by the team based on overall performance."

Helen and a fifth year boy, who was also here only for the seeker spot sat out and watched the chaser trial for the next hour. In the end, Cho Chang was selected for the position after showing an excellent overall performance. Morag put up a good show but fell just short.

Next, Helen and the 5th year boy were called up for the seeker trial. Cho decided to join them as she wanted to be the reserve seeker. Hilliard explained them the trials. They would all be flying at the same time and had to catch as many snitches as they could. Every round the number of snitches will be decreased and the difficulty increased by adding other elements.

The tryouts began with 10 snitches and they all collected an even amount with the fifth year boy collecting 4 and the girls collecting 3 each. The boy had a supreme look and was flying around with swagger now. Helen had the disadvantage of being on a school broom but she managed.

Next round a beater and a Buldger was introduced to make things difficult and the snitches were reduced to 6. This time around as well all three seekers managed to get 2 each, though the boy barely managed to get his second before Cho or Helen could swipe it. He managed to stay even only because of his superior broom and by the way of his nervous looks, he knew it as well.

In the next round, both the beaters and buldgers were present and only 3 snitches were released. With increased difficulty, it was clear that the boy not going to make it and Helen was by far the best flyer among the three. In spite of being at disadvantage due to the poor broom, she managed to catch all 3 of the agile balls with Cho giving a good competition and the boy far away on each occasion.

Despite it being clear at this stage that Helen was the best candidate, the last round was still held. Now the whole team was in the air all playing as beaters and only 1 golden snitch was released. After many evasions and near catches, Helen caught the elusive ball and held it high in the air.

In the end the team was complete with Hilliard, Davies and Chang as chasers, Doyle and White as beaters, Taylor as keeper and Helen as the youngest seeker in hundred years. Cho got the reserve seeker spot and Morag got the other reserve spot, to her surprise.

After congratulating the team, Hilliard informed that the practice will held in the evenings during the week and a weekly strategy session will be held every Saturday. He then pulled Helen away and started walking towards Professor Flitwick who congratulated her on her successful tryout. The professor and the captain then told her of their plan of getting her a decent broom and Helen had to admit it was worthy of a Slytherin.

Later on after dinner, there was a small party in the common room in the honor of the newest members of the quidditch team. The fifth year boy, whose named was Henry Fawley, as Helen had learned was visibly upset and was nursing a drink in the corner while leering her with shadowed eyes.

Helen was enjoying the party with her friends and fellow teammates. Cho had stuck together with her as the party was mainly in their honor. She found that despite being a gossip, Cho was rather intelligent and was almost top of her class. Several members of the house had come to congratulate her on selection and complemented her flying. There were doubts about her broom but she and the captain just smirked whenever they were asked about it. The rest of the team didn't know what was going on about that either.

Morag was also garnering some attention on being selected as a reserve. She was slightly disappointed on not making the first team but was honored to be the part squad. She was determined to get selected next year, but meanwhile decided to enjoy the attention.

Someone brought in a wireless and the music soon prompted people to start dancing. Helen, being the person of honor along with Cho, as well as being the girl-who-lived, was the most sought after dance partner. She, of course, graciously accepted all the invitations and danced with most of the house. She used this opportunity to look into the minds of unsuspecting partners and stoked up the admiration and trust they had for her a bit.

As she was resting for a bit after her latest bout of dancing, another boy approached her from behind. "You sure seem happy after stealing my position on the team" Fawley said in an insinuating tone. Turning around she found him scowling at her, "You only got into the team due to your fame, P" he spat. His breath smelled of alcohol and he appeared drunk as well. Her mood now fouled, Helen scathingly replied, "Don't blame your lack of talent on me. I got the position after beating you fair and square."

Fawley turned purple in anger, but before he could utter more than a "Bitch...", Hilliard and White were there and bodily dragged their year-mate to the dorms, with White apologizing on his behalf, "I think he have had too much drink and don't know what he's saying" as he tugged the struggling boy up the stairs. Helen was incensed but controlled her temper, for now.

Spirits now soured, the party started to wind-up. Penelope approached Helen to assure that nobody believed what Fawley said and she had indeed gotten in the team based on her skill and talent. Hilliard came back downstairs soon, "We had to stun him to stop him from coming back. He had trying for the team since our third year and had thought that this year was his chance, only for you to show up" he said smiling at her, showing he didn't mean it in a bad way. He continued, "but that shouldn't excuse his rude behavior. Unfortunately, he's the envious type, so its unlikely his opinion would be changed tomorrow, but we'll make sure he doesn't bother you. I'm sorry you had to go through that experience."

Helen smiled at him, "You don't have to apologize, you weren't the one being rude."

Sighing she continued, "It was bound to happen though" seeing his confused expression, she explained, "Someone was going to bring up me being the 'girl-who-lived' for getting selected sooner or later" before he could object, she continued, "I know and you know that I got selected only after putting in my best effort, but most of them don't and they are going to assume that I got in due to me fame."

Thinking a bit Hilliard stated confidently, "Well, you'll prove them wrong by catching the snitch then." Helen gave him an appreciative smile and he soon left wishing her a goodnight.

Helen's smile slipped as soon as he was gone. She wasn't going to let this slight go, drunk or not. She went upstairs with her friends, who were upset as well but were placated by Penelope's and Hilliard's words. Shortly, she had changed in her night clothes and was reading, curled up on an armchair.

Soon, her friends went to sleep and she was left alone in the oval. She waited for another hour to make sure everyone was asleep and got up. She went out of the oval and slipped into the fifth year one, making sure no one was awake. She quickly found Fawley's room and entered inside, locking it. She put up some privacy and muffling wards and looked at her quarry. Hilliard and White, it seemed weren't too pleased with him, as he was lying in an uncomfortable angle, seemingly being thrown and left there.

She levitated him in an upright position, leaned his head against the headboard and petrified him with a 'Petrificus Totalus'. She took off her robe, sat on the chair by the bed and rennervated him.

Fowley woke up groggily and found him self in his bed. As soon as he opened his eyes, he found a vision of beauty sitting next to him. She was scantily clad in a thin nightgown that left most of her thighs and shoulders bare. Dark hair cascaded down her back in waves beautifully and her stunning emerald eyes were focused on him. He realized he was getting aroused by the tempting sight in front of him as the girl's lips turned upwards in a alluring smile. Suddenly, he registered 'emerald eyes!' and focused on her face. Helen Potter was sitting in his room and the expression on her face that he had thought was alluring was something else. It was of that of a predator who had just trapped its prey into a corner. He tried speaking up, but realized he couldn't move.

Helen was amused by the tightening of his pants. She recognized that she would be quite an enticing sight in her barely there attire. She smirked when he paled on comprehending his situation after he tried to speak. She let him simmer for a while, enjoying his struggles and terror.

Finally, she leaned forward and said in an ominously low voice, "You didn't think you could get away with insulting me, could you?"

She saw the look in his eyes and laughed evilly, "You did!, you ignorant pest. How cute."

She caressed him with her wand and whispered, "Now, we can't have that", and removed all his clothes with a wave of her wand.

Looking at his erection she continued in the same tone, "What do we have here? Someone is having naughty thoughts." She put a finger on the tip and slid it downwards "more toys for me to play with" she said seductively. Fawley looked surprised at the change of tone and at her action. His eyes slowly got an aroused look the further her figure moved. She reached the base, then suddenly grabbed his balls and squeezed hard.

She could see the pain in his eyes and could feel him struggling in pain even if he couldn't react physically. "What? You think I was going to service you? Bring you pleasure? You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

She let go and continued her caressing. "I've been meaning to practice my healing spells but couldn't find suitable subjects." Looking at him directly in the eye and spotting the terror, she smirked "Thanks for volunteering."

Then she started making small cuts all over his body and healing them with simple 'episkey's and other minor healing charms. She took special care of his tool which she kept hard with occasional fondles and making several small cuts on it and healing them.

Now confident with her basic healing, she started making deeper cuts, occasionally hitting muscles, tendons and even major arteries. She would immediately cast 'Prope vulneribus' spell, an advanced healing spell whenever she hit an artery, she didn't want him to bleed out and die on her. For muscles and tendons she would let him suffer for a bit before healing him. Once, satisfied with her proficiency of the spell, she moved on to the last course.

She took aim and casted 'Afflicto' the bone breaking curse on his left forearm, breaking both the forearm bones cleanly. She had to make the break clean or it couldn't be mended with a spell and would require Skele-Gro. She didn't want an unexplained injury on him which could cast even a sliver of doubt on her.

Ignoring the tears rolling down his face, she carefully checked the alignment of the broken halves of the bones. Satisfied, she casted the bone mending spell 'emanturligna ossa' and watched the results. The mend was clean and the alignment was perfect.

Her work done she leaned back and let go of his dick. "What, did you think I was going to finish you off?" she scoffed.

She got up "Unfortunately, I can't let you remember this 'date'. Can't have you ratting me out now, can I?" she said with a smile and pointed her wand at him, "Obliviate"

She removed the complete memory except for the feeling of terror whenever he thought of her. Stunning him, she vanished whatever blood that was spilled and waved her wand over his clothes, putting them back on him. From her robe she pulled out a vial of blood replenishing potion and transferred the contacts directly into his stomach. Giving the room a once over and removing her wards, she donned on her robe. She cancelled the petrification spell and slipped out. Silently, she went back to her room and laid down for the night.

As she waited for sleep to come, she contemplated on what she had just done. Helen didn't really wanted to torture the idiot, well, may be a little, but she was actually more interested in improving her understanding of the healing spells. She had wanted to try more but assessed that it might cause some lasting damage that she wouldn't be able to heal completely. So she had terminated her practice session and left after administering the blood replenishing potion just in case. She would have to find some other way to practice more advanced healing spells.

Soon, Morpheus took her in his arms and she knew no more.

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**I actually wrote a much darker scene earlier but then realized that it would be too much for just being called a bitch, so I toned it down. If you don't like it, you should stop here and don't bother reading the future chapters because it will get darker. I have put up Helen as Dark for a reason in the summary just as I have said that this story will have gory details.**

**R&R please.**

**P.S.: ****Hopes someone finds the Skyrim reference :P**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**Update 02/05/2020: I've revised chapter 1, you may visit it again.**

**So, in this chapter I realized that I can't do accents justice. So, I'll be giving them the barest of nods and will ask you, my dear readers, to imagine the rest. On the topic of accents, Helen speaks the received pronunciation or the 'posh' accent (the modern variation, not the 60s BBC), just in case you were wondering.**

**This story now have more than 100 followers! Thanks everyone. Cheers!**

**Enjoy the latest Chapter... **

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September passed into October bringing in more rain with fewer days of sunshine. Temperature started dipping with the increase in rain. With more rain also came more quidditch practice sessions unfortunately. Hilliard turned out to be a hard drill master and had the team practice even in the heavy rains.

This year all the teams had a new seeker, coincidentally, and there were a lot of scheduling issues as all the teams wanted to get as much practice under there belt as possible. Cedric had gotten the position over in Hufflepuff, while Slytherin had Terrance Higgs filling in the position. Higgs was chaser till last year but they couldn't find anyone better, so he was filling in. Griffindor had chosen another younger student, a 2nd year by the name of Cormac McLaggen.

The first game of the season, Griffindor vs Slytherin, was scheduled on the first Sunday of November which was on the 3rd. However, Ravenclaw's first match was against Hufflepuff a few weeks later and it pitted Helen directly against Cedric for her first match.

By this time everyone and their grandmothers knew that Helen was the Ravenclaw seeker and was the youngest player to play in a Hogwarts quidditch team for a hundred years at least. Hilliard had got a bit of heat initially from the student body for selecting Helen in the team. It was thought of as a publicity stunt and people seemed to think he was a bit desperate. This was compounded when Helen was seen practicing on school brooms. But he kept his resolve and went on as he knew he had made the right decision specially when he attended Helen's solo secret practice sessions.

Quidditch practice took quiet a lot of free time away from Helen, but she carried on with it because it was important for her to establish herself within the upper hierarchy of Ravenclaw house.

Hilliard had them practicing three days a week. They would start right after the last class of the day and went on till there was no daylight left. Every session would start with warm-up, followed by individual practices each for their own position and then as a team. He would change the drills after every few sessions to keep them on their toes and to keep the practices interesting. There were some sessions in which certain players would go against the rest of the team, for example, two chasers verses the rest with Helen acting as an opposing chaser.

And as they were told during the tryouts, every Saturday the team had a meeting to discuss strategy. For this purpose one of the year's oval was used while the dorm-mates of that year would spend their mornings after breakfast elsewhere. This year it was the 5th year's oval, because as tradition the year with the highest number of players in the team would get that honor. Fawley had taken one look at her and had bolted out of the room with a terror in his eyes and confusion in his face. Helen had been greatly amused. The team analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of all the teams, and debated strategies which they would try out during next week's practice session.

Based on initial assessment, it seemed that Hufflepuff had the strongest team this year, surprisingly. They hadn't won the quidditch cup for decades now and would be thinking that it was their chance. They had the most experienced line-up of all the teams with only the seeker being a new addition. Their chasers had been the same trio for two years now and would have a great chemistry. Apart from them, only Slytherin had a somewhat experienced chaser trio. Two of their chasers had held the position for at least 2 years while the third had been a reserve for some time. Griffindor had a relatively new front three with 2 third year and 1 new second year girls. Ravenclaw were in a similar situation with Roger only having one year experience under his belt and Cho being the new addition.

Griffindor had an advantage in their goalkeeper and the beaters, though Slytherin could give them a fair challenge.

Ravenclaw's only trump card was Helen with her amazing flying talent. Of all the seekers, she was likely the best with probably Cedric being her closest contender. So, their strategy was also based around that fact. The had to keep the other teams from scoring too many goals and hoped that Helen finds the snitch quickly.

XXXXX

Her group of friends and close acquaintances had grown a bit with the addition of Blaise Zabini. Zabini was a pureblood from slytherin house. Apparently, the Slytherin first years were already divided into factions. First was the blood purist faction which included all the death eater children with Malfoy their de-facto leader. The second was of the 'neutral' families and consisted on Daphne, Tracey and Blaise. Third wasn't actually a real faction but just the two remaining girls left out in the form of Millicent Bulstrode and Lilly Moon.

Blaise was a beautiful boy with tanned skin and Italian features. He had unique purple eyes with dark hair and slanted brows. He was the only son of the infamous, Adrastia Zabini, the alleged black widow, who had been married seven times, each of her husbands dying mysteriously and leaving her mounds of gold. Helen really wanted to meet this woman.

Blaise seemed a likable enough guy, even if he was a bit vain. Daphne and Tracey had brought him and introduced to the group. They had accepted him easily and the slytherin girls were relieved, even though they tried hiding it, when Helen had approved of the boy. They hadn't had to be worried as Helen was interested in the boy because the Zabini name carried some weight back in Italy especially in the Lombardia region where the family originated from. It had nothing to do with him being an eye candy, nothing at all.

He had introduced himself in a suave manner, with his lips lingering on her hand longer then necessary while he maintained eye contact. Helen hadn't minded at all.

XXXXX

Helen had tried the library but had found very basic details on Cerberus. It was as if all the detailed creatures books had mysteriously gone missing. Shocking, not. So, Helen was left with a conundrum, where to get information on the three headed hellhound. The memories of Riddle came to rescue.

Riddle knew a certain someone during his time in Hogwarts who had a thing for dangerous animals. He even framed the poor sod for the death of that Warren girl. Rubeus Hagrid would certainly know something about the overgrown dog. Now, how to approach the man?

It turned out, Helen hadn't had to lift a finger for making the contact. She and her friends were coming out of the greenhouses one day after their latest herbology class and run into the half-giant. On spotting Helen, he approached them with a wide smile, "Alright there kids." As most of them returned the greeting nervously, he turned to Helen, "My, have ya grown up, young lady. The last time I saw ya, I could fit ya in my hand" he beamed at her.

Blushing slightly, while her friends snickered, Helen took the opportunity and asked, "You knew me as a baby?"

Hagrid replied pleasantly, "Yeah, I used ta come ta your place occasionally. Great people your parents were." he lost a bit of his cheer. "Anyways, You come ta my place sometime for tea, I'll tell ya about the mischief your father and his friends got into. Now, I've got some delivery for prof. Sprout, so need to get goin'. Have a good day." smiling and waving his huge hand he left the group.

As they went into the castle, Helen smiled at her good fortune. She knew that Hagrid knowing her as a baby was a boon, as he would likely have a soft spot for her, especially if she played the emotional card right.

The very next day, after the flying class, she had a quick lunch and went down to Hagrid's hut near the forbidden forest. She knocked on the door and was greeted with loud, excited barking from inside.

From inside she heard Hagrid saying, "Down Fang! Down your mutt!" Soon the door was opened and she smiled shyly at the man, "Hello, Mr. Hagrid"

The half-giant's face split into a wide smile and he beckoned her inside, "Come on in, come on in. And it's Hagrid, non of this 'Mr.' nonsense". Helen stepped inside the wooden cabin which was full of various knick knacks and huge homey furniture. From the ceiling hung various creature based products like different furs, what looked like raw acromantula silk and was that unicorn tail hair? Shaking her head Helen settled in the smallest available seat which still left her feet dangling above the floor. As soon as she sat down, Hagrid's over-sized boarhound dog, Fang, was on her licking her all over and being friendly as a dog would. Helen played with him while Hagrid got the tea ready.

Finally they settled down with huge cups of tea in hand and large cake made of something on the table. Hagrid regaled her with tales of her father and his group of friends. She came to know that her father was a prankster, the kind who would put the Weasley twins to shame. He talked about her mother and what a kind and intelligent woman she was. Helen never have been told about her parents keening listened to it all. He even promised to get her a few pictures he had of them. Helen was touched.

They moved on to other topics soon though. The Halloween night came up. Hagrid, visibly upset, told her how her parents were betrayed by their best friend. He told her that he was the first one who arrived at the scene and had found her sleeping in the ruins of the cottage.

After a few moments of silence, Helen changed subject. "What do you do here exactly? If you don't mind me asking." Helen asked innocently.

Waving his hand, he replied, "I'm the gamekeeper and the keeper of the keys and grounds of Hogwarts. I tend to the grounds, take care of the beasts here, and act as the security for Hogwarts. I also do some special tasks for the Headmaster from time to time."

Helen latched on to the opening, "What kind of beasts are here in Hogwarts?"

Hagrid happily answered "There are a lot of beasts in and around Hogwarts. There is a herd of Thestrals here who pull the carriages, lots of smaller animals like Bowtruckles for the CoMC classes, unicorns come in sometimes for the forest, a herd of Hippogryphs and there's also Fluffy."

Helen prodded carefully "Fluffy?"

He continued absently "Oh yeah, he's a Cerberus I've had for sometime now. Likes to cuddle a lot and falls to sleep the minute you start playing soon music" he added with a chuckle. Suddenly, he stopped chuckling and looked around guiltily.

Knowing that he had realized what he said, Helen again changed topic to avert suspicion and soon was leaving the cabin after promising more visits. She was going to keep the promise too as she liked hearing about her parents and he might know something about her ancestral home as well. On her way to castle, she thought of what she had learned. Now that she had a way past Fluffy, seriously who named a giant three headed hell hound 'Fluffy', she planned on visiting the corridor again to find what secret had the headmaster hidden inside.

XXXXX

Helen had kept up with her physical exercises and magical practice sessions. With her increased magical core she had started practicing wandless magic. One thing that was not generally known about Voldemort was that he was a master in wandless magic. While he never had to resort to that in combat situation, just because no one could disarm him or match his speed, in his alone time he did most of his magic wandlessly. He had the capability to take on a small army's worth of wizards wandlessly if he had too.

The reason wandless magic was so obscure was twofold. One, you needed a huge magical core to support it and, two, the focus required was much more than that required with a wand. It was because the wand streamlined the magic, that is to say, it channeled the spell, removed the risks and reduced the volatility of magic. In wandless magic, there was no such tool to support a witch. She would have to do everything by herself.

It was for this specific reason that Helen had started practicing wandlessly. While doing everything by herself was challenging, it made one appreciate the difficultly of performing, what some called 'real' magic, along with the side effect of making them an expert of the nuances of magic.

Even the simplest of spells performed by wand required a great amount of focus when performed wandlessly. You had to first construct the spell for which you needed to be sure of the result you desired, the way you wanted the result to come out, for how long the effort had to remain. Next, you had to stabilize the spell. This was more difficult then it sounded. For example, for a levitation spell, just the the spell sequence of levitation of the object wasn't enough, you had to put in restrictions on its movements or a simple quill could turn into a small projectile ready to poke somebody's eye out. After that came the charging of the spell. You had to supply the spell with just the right amount of magic. Too little and the construct fails, too much and the spell blows up.

A master of wandless magic could do all that within split seconds and could put in any number of variations in the spell because they had the 'code' of the spell literally in their hands. It was also the reason Voldemort was so bloody fast. If a master could do all that within a blink of an eye without a wand, imagine what his speed would be with one.

So, in order to increase her own understanding and speed she had also started to practice wandlessly. This wasn't something she could just copy from Voldemort's memories, this she had to do herself. And she was happy to do it. So far she had performed the basic charms taught to the first years. Her speed was slow but it was still early days and she was improving daily.

Wandless magic wasn't the only thing she had been practicing. Ever since she was a young girl, even before her 'awakening', should had been fascinated by lightening. Maybe it was because Dudley was afraid of it. But whatever the reason, she liked lightening and wanted to make and control some herself. And that meant elemental magic. Now, lightening was a compound elemental branch of magic, which meant that she had to have expertise in multiple primary elementals, namely air and fire and either one of earth or water, to even get a few sparks out of her hands.

She had started with her own elemental affinity, fire. Any talented first year could cast the bluebell flames or even an 'incendio' spell. But an elemental didn't need spells for creating or controlling fire. She could do it just by willing it so and the resulting flames weren't so easy to put out either. Helen had started by creating small flame to appear before her and then she had progressed to adding more around her.

Right now, she had managed to get several fist sized flames rotating around her. She had been altering the color and temperature of the flames while keeping them rotating without burning anything. She had managed to get till 10 such flames before her control slipped and the circular parchment boundary she had created beforehand around her went up in the flames.

Sighing in disappointment, she put out the fire with an 'Aguamenti' spell. While her numbers were better than last week's 8, they weren't anything to brag about either. Nonetheless, it was still progress. After putting out the fire, she wished a shooting range and the room of requirement provided. She started shooting fist sized firebolts at the dummies, making them explode on contact. She continued with the exercise for ten minutes, while trying to add variations in the attacks. She tried altering the temperature of the firebolts, making them more condensed so as to act as a pierce bolt, she tried imparting a bend to the projectiles and tried shooting multiple bolts at a time. She managed to get varying levels of success in her experiments. She couldn't increase their temperature too much but in the rest of her trials she succeeded.

Finished, she sat down in a summoned seat and rested for a while. She had been frustrated and blowing up some dummies had calmed her down somewhat. The reason for frustration was the next ritual that she had planned. It was a physical enhancement ritual which toughened the body without altering it. The ritual made the body much more resistant to injuries and accelerated the healing process. The problem was the main ingredient. Re'em blood was an extremely rare and controlled item, not to mention expensive. Her Liverpool supplier had replied negativity when she had very casually inquired about it. While, she was sure she could get it from the Knockturn Alley, she didn't had the funds to pay the inflated prices of that place. And she couldn't go to Gringott's without raising suspicion. So, she was stuck without any solution in sight.

Giving up on it for now, she did some aerobics and then went back to Ravenclaw tower to get ready for the rest of her day.

XXXXX

It was the second weekend of October when Helen decided to check the forbidden corridor. Till now a lot of students had visited the place and all had been scared away by the Cerberus. Quirrell had visited once as well though he detected the perimeter ward and didn't enter. Helen knew sooner or later he'll find a way past it so she had a small window of opportunity before he makes his play.

Last night she went to sleep at 9 O'clock, early by her standards. She woke up at three in the morning got ready for her nightly visit by changing into a dark track suit and sneakers and a robe on top of them. Before leaving she put some notice-me-not charms over her, and muffled her shoes. Moving quietly but swiftly, using the shortcuts she knew, Helen reached the corridor in five minutes. Once again checking for any detection magic she proceeded watchfully. She didn't find anything new and quickly reached the last door.

She had thought of how to bypass the ward and came up with a simple plan. Instead on removing the ward or the door and possibly alerting Dumbledore, she would remove the door frame itself. So she gestured her wand transfiguring the stone next to the frame into sand and carefully detached the door frame from the wall. Before completely removing it she took out a shrunken medieval lute which she had found in the room of requirement out of her pocket. Restoring its size she spelled it to start playing a soft melody.

After that she removed the frame and set it by the wall. She saw fluffy was already asleep so she carefully entered inside the room and replaced the frame back into position. Can't have someone coming up and finding the something wrong. She set the lute on the wall next the overgrown doggy and opened the trapdoor.

Inside was pitch black with nothing visible. Frowning, she conjured a rock and let it drop inside. All she heard was an impact on a soft surface not too far from the opening. She took a guess and sent a fire bolt down next. The effect was immediate as the black mass of devil's snare immediately receded showing a stone surface below. Satisfied, Helen jumped in casting an 'arresto momentum' on herself. On landing gently she looked around and found herself in a downward passage with stone walls, through which trickling water could be heard.

She walked along the passage which ended in a door. She could hear strange sound coming from it. Opening the door cautiously she found the source of the sound. There were hundreds of glittering flying keys inside the chamber. On the opposite end of the chamber from the stone passage was a large, old-fashioned wooden door with a silver lock, which she predicted wouldn't open with any unlocking charm and would require one of those flying keys. She inspected the lock and evaluated that the key had to be long and likely made of silver too. Her sharp seeker eyes quickly found the matching key. Ignoring the broom, she simply summoned the key and unlocked the door to progress further.

The next chamber was dark but lit up as soon as she stepped in. There was a huge human-sized chess set inside with the white at her side and the black on the opposite. She could see a door on the opposite wall and reckoned that she had to win the game to access the door safely. She finished the game in four moves. Apparently, they had never heard of Scholar's mate in the wizarding world.

She moved towards the door and suddenly stopped as a horrible reek hit her nose. Helen was troubled as she guessed the source of the smell. It was likely some sort of creature or beast which she would have to fight to get past. She was sure she could do it, but it would leave evidence behind that someone was here and she didn't want that. So, she decided to check the creature first and then determine her course of action based on it.

Warily she opened the door an inch and peeped inside. On finding a mountain troll, she sighed in relief. She could get past the dumb beast easily. She applied a few more stronger notice-me-not charms over her and added a neutral smell charm on top of it. As she was already muffled she proceeded inside slowly. She shifted and shuffled along the wall far away from the troll and reached the opposite door in her own good time.

Once beyond the door she found herself in another chamber which bunch of potions on a table along with a parchment with some text on it as well as a door on the far end. As soon as she closed the door behind her, both the doors were covered with fire, purple flames for entrance and black for exit. After testing the flames she deduced them to be variants of dark fire, an advantaged incineration curse. She knew the shields which would work against these curses so she applied them and moved on, ignoring the potions on the table, one of which would probably have a variant of anti-flame potion of each flame.

After exiting the chamber without any difficulty, she found herself in another, shockingly, chamber. She had a stray thought of founders in love with chambers, seriously there were chambers all other the castle. Inside was nothing but a small table with a pouch on it. After casting detection charms and finding nothing, she approached the table. She again casted the charm on the pouch and found a strange intent based ward on it. One could look inside the pouch but could not take anything out unless they didn't want to use it.

Now, highly curious she carefully looked inside the pouch. What she found shocked her beyond belief. It was the fabled Philosopher's stone. The fucking holy grail of alchemy was here in Hogwarts, hidden behind flimsy protections. What were the Flamels thinking, giving their's most precious treasure to Dumbledore. And what was Dumbledore thinking by using this as bait for Voldemort, especially with such pathetic defenses.

Then she suddenly realized what this all was about. Dumbledore was being his clever self all over again. He wanted to kill two birds with one 'stone' so to speak. He would have somehow let it slip to her sometime in near future that the stone was here and that someone was after it. He would have further suggested that protecting the stone was paramount, and would have judged her desire for following the instructions and working for the 'greater good' despite the dangers.

He wanted to get to know the characters of the prophecized one and install himself as a wise and kind grandfatherly guide. It might have worked too if she had been a stupid heroic Griffindor, always charging ahead without a thought. Unfortunately, she would have to play the role of a good heroin if she didn't want him to watch her every step.

So, having digressed enough, she put her hand inside the pouch and pulled out the stone. It was very simple for her as she didn't want to 'use' the stone, rather she wanted to 'study' it. It was a loophole and the difference was enough to fool the ward. She held the stone at eye level and observed it. It was a mesmerizing piece of magic. It had a ruby red color and seemed to emit a little bit of light and was humming with power in her hand.

Now that she had it, what to do with it? She could never create a fake copy of it as the feeling of it was quite unique and not even Dumbledore could create that in a fake. So, stealing and leaving behind a fake was out of question if she didn't wanted her adventures discovered. She didn't want to leave empty-handed either, with the ultimate treasure in her hands. She could simply take it, secrecy be damned and hide it in a safe place. She was very tempted to do so but didn't. In the end, she came up with a simple solution.

The stone was of an irregular shape, so it would be impossible to know if it was chipped a bit. Even if someone, likely the Flamels, discovered the irregularity, it could be explained away as mishandling of such a precious artifact. So, she took a careful aim with her wand and cracked a smallest of chips out of it. She collected the chip in a conjured glass vial, stoppered it and put it in her pocket.

She put the stone back in the pouch reluctantly and made her way back up. The troll was still ignorant of her presence and the class board was back to the starting setup. She re-locked the silver lock and made her way to under the devil's snare. She conjured a glass jar and a wooden disc. Summoning some bluebells flames, she put them in the jar and stepped on the disc. Then she levitated up holding the lit jack over her head to avoid the devil's snare. She went out in the corridor, summoned the still playing lute and replaced the door frame back, restoring the transfiguration of stone. Cancelling the music, she shrunk the lute and made her way back to her room having pulled off a perfect crime with none the wiser.

XXXXX

The morning of Halloween found Helen with an air of melancholy around her. She had done her magical and physical workout without much heart in it and was now sitting the the oval waiting for her friends to get ready for the day. On the way to breakfast they tried to cheer her up with their antics to marginal success. They of course knew the cause of her mood, this was the day she became the girl-who-lived and her parents died.

The day went on slowly as well. They had charms first thing in the morning with Griffindor. Today professor Flitwick was going to introduce the levitation spell. After explaining the theory behind it he supplied everyone with a feather to work on. Hermione had partnered up with the moron Weasley and was trying to correct his pronunciation of the spell. "You're saying it wrong. It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." she instructed to the boy. Frustrated the boy replied shortly, "You do it, then, if you're so clever" and she did on her first try. Flitwick awarded her with 10 point for her efforts and moron awarded her with a huff and a cold shoulder.

After the class, as the Ravenclaw were making their way out for a flying lesson, moRon had tossed a hurtful comment at the girl, "It's no wonder no one can stand her … she's a nightmare, honestly." which the girl had overheard and ran away tearfully. Helen had wanted to teach the stupid sod a lesson but was late for the class and had to leave.

Later during dinner Padma informed her that she had learned from her sister that Hermione had been crying all day in the first floor bathroom. Helen decided to go console her after dinner. However, her plan was thrown out of window soon, as Quirrell rushed in the great hall banging the doors open shouting, "Troll! Troll in the dungeons! Thought you ought to know" and promptly fainted face first on the floor. As expected, everyone started shouting in panic. Dumbledore caused a huge bang with his wand and calmly instructed, "No need to panic. Prefects are to take their houses to their common rooms in an orderly fashion. Teachers and faculty to the dungeons."

Helen knew that this was likely an attempt made by Quirrell for the stone. She had to admit he did have some acting skills. She however had another issue on her mind. Hermione didn't know of the troll and was still in the first floor toilets. As the students made their way back to the common rooms, Helen gave them a slip and went to the first floor to get her out. As she reached the right corridor she was hit with the stench and knew the situation was bad.

Entering inside the toilets she found a 12 feet tall mountain troll smashing the partitions with its club. Underneath them she saw Hermione trying to crawl away from the destruction. She reached the last one and the troll was only one behind. Not wanting to see the girl hurt, Helen jumped into action.

She knew that direct spells would be useless here because of the highly magic resistant skin of the troll. So, Helen transfigured a piece of broken partition into a steel spear and hurled it at its back. Unfortunately, the troll moved at the last second and instead of getting its heart, she pierced its left shoulder. The troll howled in pain and turned around. Finding the assailant, it rushed towards her. Helen turned the water on the floor into oil causing the troll to slip on it, loosing its footing and slid towards her. She jumped away at the last second and the troll crashed into the wall impaling itself further causing its shoulder to hang on just be some ligaments. Helen cancelled the transfiguration on the water except for what was sticking to the troll and set it on fire with a simple 'Incendio'.

She knew it wouldn't last long or cause too much damage as the oil was too little and troll's skin was thick and resistant. While the troll was distracted with the fire, she transfigured some more spears out of wreckage and impaled them through rest of its limbs making it immobile. Then she levitated its club and battered the head till there was nothing but pulp left. Finally sure that it was dead, Helen let her arm drop and suppressed her exhilaration. She still had work to do.

Checking behind her, she saw that Hermione was still inside the last cubicle, she quickly conjured a glass vial and summoned some of the troll's blood in it. She hid it in her robes and quickly changed the spears to look like giant needles. She vanished all the remaining transfigured oil and after giving the room a quick check called Hermione out, "You can come out. I don't think the troll can hurt anyone now."

She slowly emerged from the cubicle. On watching the horrible sight she gasped and averted her eyes. "Are you alright? Did anything hit you?" Helen inquired.

Before she could answer though, they had company. McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick entered the toilet and were standing there looking at the corpse in shock. Snape had been limping a bit when he entered and was the first one to recover and focused on the girls. He just said one word to them, "Explain."

Before Hermione could open her mouth, Helen started talking in nervous quick tone, "On the way back to Ravenclaw tower, I remembered that Hermione hadn't been to dinner because Weasley had said some very awful words to her and then I remembered Padma telling me that she was in this Toilet and I thought I should warn her of the troll in the dungeon so she could get back to her own common room but when I got here the troll was already here and and was attacking the cubicles and I could hear Hermione crying for help so I acted and transfigured the rubble into needles, just like professor McGonagall taught us but bigger in size and then I levitated it and forced it towards the troll's back. But I missed and hit its shoulder and it came charging at me. I was so scared, I thought I was going to die, but somehow, at the last second I jumped away and the troll smashed into the wall. It started getting up again so I transfigured some more needles and hit it again. It was still moving so I levitated its club and beat its head with it till it stopped moving." She said the whole thing so fast and with a panicked expression that McGonagall looked baffled at the normally calm girl. "I didn't realized I had killed it though" she finished weakly glancing at the headless body and quickly averted her eyes away with a horrified expression on her face. Flitwick and Snape bought her act though and mentally blamed Adrenaline for her reaction having seen the same multiple times in their respective previous profession.

They were right about the Adrenaline and wrong about everything else. She had it running high in her body with her heart beating fast due to the fight and the kill. She even had the dilated pupils and jitters because her body wasn't used to it yet. But her reaction was a complete fake. She didn't want to let out that she could kill a troll and still be in control. That wasn't a normal behavior of a first year girl, no manner how brave or intelligent.

McGonagall, now recovered as well, started speaking agitatedly, "You are either the bravest or the stupidest girl I know! You could have informed any of the teachers or prefects instead of charging in without a thought. What would have happened if you both had been injured or worse." She visibly forced herself to calm down and continued, "It doesn't mean that I don't appreciate your concern for a friend in trouble, but I hope you come to us before getting into this kind of situation in future."

Helen meekly replied, "Yes, Ma'am." with her head down. McGonagall, satisfied with her message delivered, continued, "I'll look into Mr. Weasley actions and appropriate punishment will be given if required."

Flitwick interjected here, "I would like to commend Miss Potter for her quick thinking and excellent use of magic. Not many can say that they slew a mountain troll single-handedly, certainly not as a 1st year. This deserves a reward, don't you think, Minerva."

"Yes, it certainly does. Let's see, 30 points to Ravenclaw for excellent use of magic and 10 points for sheer dumb luck" she said with a small amused smirk on her face, "now off you two, to the hospital for a check-up."

As she was leaving Helen heard Snape speaking softly, "20 points to Ravenclaw for helping a friend." Smirking to herself she left for hospital with Hermione in tow.

As soon as they were away from the corridor, Hermione turned to her and gave a rib-cracking hug, "Thank you for coming to my rescue. I would've surely died there." she said while crying into her shoulder. Helen returned the hug and calmed her down, "I would never let anything happen to you. I'm your friend, no matter what Weasley says. And I care for you" she said patting her friend on the back.

After a while, Hermione calmed down and released her and gave her a watery smile, "Thank you."

They continued to the hospital wing. After getting a clean chit of health they went upstairs and parted ways on the 7th floor landing after another hug and a 'thank you' from Hermione. As Helen entered her common room, she received the shocked looks of her whole house gathered in the room. Apparently, during her visit to the hospital, Flitwick had informed them about what had happened. After answering everyone's questions about the encounter she went to her room. She carefully took out the vial of blood and looked at it with a triumphant smile.

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**Please review. They help me keep motivated :)**

**So, the first year might end in the next chapter (will be a long one if that happens) and we'll start with the summer break in the one next.**

**Next update might take a bit longer as I try to wrap up the 1st year in one go.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Check the first chapter for the disclaimers**

**So, one of the most irritating thing I've found while writing here is the site indicating the UK English spellings wrong. As someone who was brought up being taught those spellings, seeing that stupid red line is so bloody irritating I can't tell you! So those who are wondering why all the American spellings in my story, that's the reason. Blame the site! **

**Now that the mini-rant is over, let's get on to it.**

**I know I said it'll take me longer to post next chapter as I tried to finish 1st year in it. Yeah, well, that's not happening. It had gone over 10k words, so I had to divide it into 2 parts. Here's the first one, its a bit shorter then last few chapters, but it'll tide you guys over till the next one, which will be the last of the 1st year.**

**Enjoy!**

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Next morning. at very early hours, Helen could be found in the room of requirement humming a tune while preparing for a ritual. It was the physical enhancement ritual she had hit a roadblock with a few weeks back because of the unavailability of Re'em's blood. However, she now had troll's blood with her and most of her problems were solved. The ritual originally used Re'em blood but could be modified to utilize troll blood easily. That she had slain the beast herself also came into factor. Instead of just increase her physical endurance and making her injury resistant, now the ritual will also increase her strength significantly. This was due to the fact that she would be using blood she had drawn herself not even ten hours ago.

This was a mesoamerican ritual and required Nahuatl runes, which she was currently drawing on her body using a mixture of ingredients including the troll's blood. The runes mostly centered around her solar plexus with a few runes on each of her limbs and back.

The ritual was obviously a dark one, considering the blood component of it. Despite that, the side-effects were rather mild and actually favorable, in her opinion. The ritual would increase her metabolism and accelerate her puberty. So, she was likely to go through a growth spurt over the coming months, big deal. It could be easily explained away as an early bloomer and she wanted the puberty to be over soon anyways. A year later, Helen would realize that she hadn't had worried over the matter as it turned out the Potters were notoriously late bloomers and her ritual had cancelled that out. She will still grow faster than normal but not unnaturally fast.

Done with the preparations, she stood up and checked the work in a mirror. Satisfied, she centered herself and started pouring magic into the runes over her body. She did so for a minute, when she started feeling an ache in her muscles. This was her cue to stop channeling magic and wait for the ritual to take effect. It didn't take long as the pain started building up in her bones as well. The pain in her body was because it was being modified at a cellular level. Every cell in her body was given higher endurance than normal making her overall tougher and stronger but not changing her volume. Appearance wise she remained the same.

Soon, the pain started receding from her body leaving behind a dull ache in her muscles, which would remain for about a day. She summoned an armchair and settled into it. Curious to see the results, she willed the room to provide a knife and sliced her forearm. Or tried to as the knife barely made a scratch. It did cut through the skin when she applied more pressure but Helen was satisfied. Next, she summoned a few wooden boards and punched throw them. She now had the strength to punch through an inch thick wooden boards and could do so without shattering her hand or cracking her skin.

Pleased, she moved to the most important part. Getting used her strength. For the next hour, she summoned thin champagne glasses and tried not to break them while holding them up. After somewhat getting used to her strength, she got up and went back to the Ravenclaw tower to get ready for the day. She would have to avoid handling glass utensils and apparatus for a few days.

Last night, the Ravenclaws had grilled her about the incident with troll. There were questions about why she was there and why didn't she run or called the professors. Then there were calls to give details about the fight itself. They were all awed and amazed by her performance. Throughout her story, her year-mates' expressions were a mixture of worry, wonder and worship. She rather liked the last part.

Today the worry was gone but wonder and worship was still there. It might have something to do with her encouraging such thoughts through legilimency. She wanted the group to completely start following her and she judged that this incident will push them over the last bit of doubt or reluctance. And she was right as they all waited for her and looked for her approval throughout the day. When they went for breakfast, they subconsciously arranged themselves around and behind her. At the table as well, they sat in a manner so as to subtly indicate her as the leader of the group. The rest of the Ravenclaw had also shown respect for her actions and decisiveness.

Helen had taken seats near the door and had kept an eye at them. As soon as she saw her mark, she called her, "Hermione, why don't you join us for breakfast today?"

She was startled for a second and then came over nervously. Helen encouraged her, "Good morning, why don't you take this spot?" she indicated the space in front of her. Hermione hesitantly sat and introductions were made. Slowly, she opened up and started chatting with the group, feeling at ease with the more intellectual minded group than compared to her own house. She kept on glancing Helen's way throughout the breakfast, shying away and blushing slightly whenever she was caught looking. Since they all had the first two period free, they went back to the Ravenclaw tower to laze around a bit and Helen invited Hermione along.

She was reluctant to go as she didn't want to break any rules by entering house dormitory, but on the other hand she was curious to see the interior of the house of intelligent and their rumored private library. When Helen informed her the it wasn't against the rules, her curiosity won out and she accompanied them upstairs. Before entering they made her promise not the revel any secrets of Ravenclaw to anyone else and then explained her the entry procedure into the common room.

Hermione was amazed by the common room but that didn't held her attention for long. As soon as she spotted the small library to the side, she was gone so fast, it was like she had apparated into it. Ten minutes later Helen dragged a reluctant looking girl out from the library and up to their oval. To say Hermione was jealous of the arrangement would be a huge understatement. After giving her a small tour they all settled in and were discussing away on different topics, making Hermione feel a part of the group. The smart girl had realized what was happening and gave a grateful smile to Helen for it.

During their discussions the topic of Hermione's sorting came up. The Ravenclaws were confused how she ended up in Griffindor when she obviously belonged in Ravenclaw. A blushing Hermione had explained how she had argued with the hat to put her in the house that Albus Dumbledore belonged in, a terrible choice for her she later realized. While the group had a laugh, Helen did a mental facepalm on that, 'Of all the people to emulate, she had chosen Dumbledore! She could do better and I would give her a better role model to follow.'

Helen had realized that the girl had huge potential but a submissive demeanor, with a leaning to follow authority figure blindly. She could use this behavior into making the girl one of her own. By the way she was sneaking glances at her, she seemed to already have a crush on her. She was cute and would grow into a beautiful woman, so it was a possibility as well.

Hermione's sorting discussion shifted to Helen's sorting. Everyone was curious about her long sorting process and how everyone expected her to be a Griffindor. Hermione told them that Griffindor crowd was really disappointed on not getting her. Helen told them how the hat was indecisive over her placement. The hat had said that she could go and thrive in any of the Hogwarts houses but had finally settled on Ravenclaw due to her intelligence and thirst for knowledge. It was almost the truth as hat had Slytherin as the first choice for her but one which she had rejected due to the current environment over there completely unsuitable for her.

Hermione had also informed them about Weasley's fate. McGonagall had gone hard on him, especially when he did not admit to any wrongdoing and justified his statements. The head of Griffindor had given him one whole month of detention with Snape and Fitch on alternate days. But that wasn't the worst of it. The twins having heard what he had said and caused were really pissed at him and had planned cruel pranks for him over the next month. Their elder brother Percy had written to their mother about Ron's behavior and it was rumored that the Weasley matriarch was very found of Howlers.

XXXXX

It was 3rd of November and the first quidditch match of the season was onto them. Griffindor vs Slytherin, the long standing rivalry had the whole school excited. Even the Ravenclaw were stirred by the atmosphere.

The last few days in the built up the match had seen increased hostility between the two houses. Spontaneous fights would break out and spells were flying around in the corridors. One day Griffindor captain and keeper had to skip lunch and dinner due to him being under Madam Pomfrey care after being hit by some curse in the back. The very next day all the 7th year Slytherin were puking their guts out right after dinner. Helen suspected the Weasley twins behind that had come down to today's match up. The teams were escorted to the great hall for breakfast surrounded by their house and later to the field.

Hilliard had gathered his own team and they were going to attend the match together to observe and compare notes.

What they saw had them worried. Up till now, they had assumed that Griffindor would be the weakest team with disjointed chaser trio and a sub-par seeker. They were right about the seeker but nothing else. The beater were, as expected being twins, very well coordinated. Their keeper was probably the best in Hogwarts and would likely go on to be a professional player. It was the chaser trio, or the 'Flying Foxes' as the entertaining commentator was calling them, that had them surprised and worried. Despite being young and with little experience under their belts, Johnson, Spinnet and Bell were very well synchronized and were holding their own against the much more experienced Slytherin lineup.

Slytherin were as they were expected, experienced, well structured and aggressive. Their game plan revolved around not letting the opposition team utilize their strategies, by any means necessary. They weren't afraid to committing fouls or being physical, and had the Griffindors rattled.

An hour had passed since the start and currently the score was 70-50 in favor of Slytherin, but the gap had started to widen and unless the Griffindor seeker, McLaggen, could catch the snitch quickly, the match would end in Slytherin favor as injuries had started to pile up on the red side. Both Wood and Johnson were carrying knocks that was affecting their performance and the twins were slowly being overwhelmed by the collective effect of the oppositions.

Half an hour it was over. Griffindor had managed only three more goals while the green team had scored five in return when the snitch was caught by Higgs with McLaggen nowhere in sight. The match ended 270-80 giving Slytherin a huge 190 points lead from the get go.

XXXXX

Two weeks had passed and now it was time for Helen's first game. Over the course of those weeks, Helen had taken to flirt up with Cedric a bit but he seemed to know what was going on and never gave up any of their tactics. It didn't mean they didn't enjoy the flirting. Helen had earlier decided that she wasn't going to use mind magic to influence or cheat for quidditch purposes as she rather enjoyed the game and challenge that came with it.

Hilliard had stepped up the training after the first match and had a maniac look about him. The match day dawned with light mist which would be gone by the time the match started. Hilliard had ordered the team to bed early last night and had them gathered and ready in the common room early in the morning for a final tactical discussion. They knew they will never outsource the Badgers, so they planned to play defensive and employ all the delaying tactics they knew off to give Helen the opportunity to catch the snitch.

Helen was carrying a new Cleansweep 7, a decent broom with only the latest Nimbus faster than it currently. It was a good broom for both chaser and seeker positions as it had a good acceleration as well as almost unrivaled handling. Helen didn't own the broom though, it belonged the Hilliard who had bought it as an 'emergency' broom with the money he had happened to find on his bed after Flitwick had checked it for doxy infestation. Flitwick had, in turn, coincidentally found the exact same amount of money on a chair after a meeting with Miss Potter.

Soon, the teams were lined up over the pitch waiting for Madam Hooch to finish giving instructions. She had inquired about her broom but it was a mere formality as she was also in on the scheme. Helen would later find out that she had actually suggested it to Flitwick in the first place. Just before Hooch blew her whistle, Helen gave another flirtatious smile to Cedric and they were off.

Within minutes, they realized this was going to be an extremely tough game. The Hufflepuff team was very good and already had multiple attempts on goal. By ten minutes mark, despite the defensive efforts, Badgers were 20-0 up. Helen figured that unless the status quo changed, even her catching the snitch wouldn't save them the match. So she charged at the chaser open for pass and checked him, blocking the quaffle with her broom. And then she flew onwards in a zig-zag motion bluffing having seen a snitch. She got Cedric's attention and dragged him around for a bit, while the loose quaffle was collected by a quick Cho and passed on to open Hilliard who went on to score their first goal. As soon as the goal was scored, Helen stopped and gave Cedric an impish smirk, who realized he had been played.

The game continued in the same vein for the next forty minutes but still the Hufflepuff were slowing pulling away. The scores sat on 90-50 at an hour mark when something unexpected happened.

As Helen was flying in a loop, searching for the snitch, her broom suddenly gave a jerk, nearly dismounting her. She stopped and examined it when it lurched and she barely managed to held on to it. She recognized quickly that it wasn't a fault in the broom rather someone was cursing it. Cursing a broom was no ordinary feet as the modern brooms were loaded with a bucket load of anti-curse wards and spells, otherwise professional quidditch would become a death match. Combine that fact with motive and there was only one candidate who would curse her while she was thirty metres above ground. She quickly glanced towards the staff area and indeed Quirrell's lips were moving silently while his eyes were fixed on her as he continued his curse. She saw two more things that had her surprised. One, Snape's lips were also moving and she realized he was trying to counter the curse. Two, Hermione was sneaking towards them under the rafters having realized what was happening.

She tightly held on to the broom as the other players had also stopped playing with Cedric now hovering a few feet under her in case her grip slipped. Hermione had reached her target and lit Snape's robes on fire. Wait, what?

She had thought Snape was cursing her. Of course she did! He wasn't the most pleasant person and seemed to target her during classes. He also looked the main suspect with his lips moving in the counter curse while Quirrell's looked it trembling. But, nonetheless, her actions worked, as Quirrell's concentration was broken as soon as the fire broke out and Helen's broom stabilized. She mounted back on it and the game restarted. Quirrell didn't try anything again for the fear of detection.

Helen spotted the snitch a few times over the next half an hour, but every time Cedric was closer to it so she had to fake in the other direction to get him away from it. Finally, she lucked out as this time the snitch was roughly equidistant to them both and she immediately went for it. Cedric was no sloth though and he too also started having realized that this was the real deal. The snitch realizing it was being tailed now started flying in random pattern. Helen had a few feet advantage having seen the golden ball first with Cedric behind her on her right. Suddenly, the snitch made a ninety degree turn to the right and flew upwards causing Helen's advantage to disappear. She and Cedric were now neck to neck urging their brooms forward when the ball again changed course and few downwards. They were nearly onto it when it started flying horizontally just a few feet above the ground. Both made a go for it at the same time, resulting in a collision and them tumbling and rolling on the ground for a few feet. They came to a stop after a few feet with Helen lying on top on Cedric. Cedric looked up into her eyes and said with a smile, "Good match." Helen replied "Good match indeed." and raised her hand showing the caught snitch. The crowd which had gone silent since their chase roared in approval and the commentator announced the final score 230-150 with Ravenclaw winning by 80 points.

Before getting up she said, "Thank you for earlier. I know you wouldn't have let me fall." and kissed him near his mouth on his check. Leaving the blushing boy, she got up and was immediately caught by her team. They proceeding to lift her over their shoulders and gave a victory lap around the pitch. As soon as she dismounted her friends tackled her into a group hug and were cheering on excitedly. Soon, the procession moved into the Ravenclaw common room and a party was planned for the evening. On the way back she saw blushing Cedric being teased by his year-mates about winning despite losing the match. On meeting his eyes, she gave him a wink causing him to blush further and his mates to intensity their assault on the poor boy.

For the party Helen had changed into a black scoop neck sleeveless romper dress with a front split knee length overskirt and huge bright roses printed on it. To go with the dress, she had slipped into black pencil heels and applied makeup to match the dress with light eye shadow and blush, black eyeliner and glossy dark pink lipstick. This was the first time she was going all out and wanted to bedazzle everyone. She entered the oval and found most of her dorm-mates waiting. The boys were slack-jawed at her appearance and couldn't take their eyes of her. The girls shooed them out and waited for Mandy and Morag who were running a bit late. All the girls had followed her advice and were all also decked up in beautiful dresses borrowed from Helen. Hermione was present too and was looking rather fetching in denim skirt with destroyed hem and a plain white sleeveless top. Helen went up to her and whispered in her ear, "You look lovely" and pecked her cheek causing her to turn vermilion. She continued, "and thank you for the fire" giving her a knowing smile, causing the latter's eyes to widen. After Mandy and Morag were ready they went down as a group with Helen coming last out of the stairwell.

As soon as reached the common room, the first year girls were cornered by the senior girls who were curious about their dresses. When they were informed about Helen been the supplier, they commended her choices and a discussion of fashion ensued. Cho even asked if she could borrow a few pieces time to time.

The party was a smashing success with lots of food and butterbeer available and a lot of games and dancing involved. Helen was once again center of attraction and this time around there was no sulking jealous boy to break the mood. She had danced with lots of boys and had unconsciously coaxed the good-looking ones to hold her closer. She had even danced a slow number with a crimson Hermione, who despite her embarrassment was unwilling to let her go at the end of the song. Professor Flitwick also joined the party and later escorted Hermione back to the Griffindor tower.

As the party winded up the first years decided to have an after party of their own in their oval. They played many party games while relaxing on the couches. At one point Padma asked Helen, "Can you teach me how to fight?" the others looked on interested as she continued, "You took down a mountain troll which most of the adults cannot do. That you did it in close quarters while protecting Hermione speaks volumes of your talent and skill. Not only that, you are the first one to learn spells and you do so with such understanding that most can't even think of." Helen who was leaning on Lisa with her legs in Micheal's lap, gave it a thought. Finally she asked, "Are you all interested in this? Do you all want me to teach you?" seeing them nod enthusiastically she consented "Alright I'll do it. But please don't break my faith. You are my first friends and you letting me down will break my heart."

Padma looked horrified and quickly placated her, "I'll never betray you or let you down. You're my friend." When everyone else followed quickly as well she gave them a dazzling smile and they started planning out schedules. Internally, Helen was very pleased as this would completely cement her place as their leader and them as her followers.

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**Hope you enjoyed the two quidditch matches. If you all want me to write detailed matches, tell me so and I'll see what I can do.**

**Please R&R.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers. I mean really read them, so you aren't surprised whenever something happens as I will not be posting warnings at the start of each chapters about their content.**

**The last chapter was received very well by you lot. Thank you all for the show of appreciation.**

**BTW, this story now have over 100 favorites. Never thought I'll get over 100 people to like my work when I started, so a big Thank You again.**

**And because of this, here's a huge chapter for you all to enjoy. **

**And enjoy it you will ;)**

* * *

Helen had decided to split her magical training into two distinct parts. One focused on wandless and elemental magic. This part of her training completely concentrated on her learning new skills and developing her finesse in the esoteric arts. The second part involved her hurling huge amounts of magic at the targets at a very quick pace. She was doing this for multiple reason. Firstly, this was the easiest way to stretch the limits of your magic and thus forcing it to grow. It also helped in smoothing and expanding the magical channels. Secondly, this kind of practice would increase her casting speed and accuracy, something that could only be learned by practice. It would also make her magic become accustomed to throwing combat spells.

So, she would have multiple moving dummies with a shield on, moving around with her trying to destroy them in shortest possible time. She didn't have them shooting back yet, as right now she was focusing on her own spellwork. Dodging and defense practice would come later once she was decent enough with her offense. She had progressed to using mid level curses by now and would occasionally throw in a high level curse too at the dummies. Though, she was using only the so called 'light' or 'gray' spells.

While using 'dark' spells would cause her to use more magic, as they generally were on the higher end of the magical requirement spectrum, using the spells which required negative intent too much at an early age could cause a taint in the person's magical core. It would make using the 'light' spell more difficult and downright impossible if they required their own positive intent. This was a problem faced by many a dark magic users. Voldemort, for example, couldn't use the patronus charm or the white lance spell. She didn't want the same to happen to her, so for now, she had to compromise with only an occasional dark spell here or there.

On the elemental front, Helen had mastered her firebolts and was now working on a fireball that would explode on impact covering a 10 feet area from impact in fire. Along with that she was working on fire traps, that would work like landmines and a flame cloak that could absorb some minor spells and prevent attackers from closing quarters.

Due to her extensive training schedule her research projects had taken a back seat but she reckoned that she will take them on again in the summer when she couldn't do magic anyways. Well, not till she had a trace on her wand at least.

XXXXX

Helen knew she was in trouble. Her most recent ritual had an unforeseen side-effect, which in hind-side should have been obvious. A side-effect she had unconsciously been acting on. Like when she had kissed Cedric right in the middle of quidditch pitch or when she had done the same with Hermione later in the dormitory, though admittedly only on cheek on both occasions, but still. She had also unconsciously guided a few boys to dance with their bodies pressed to her, enough for her to know that they had really liked it.

She had known that the ritual would accelerate her puberty. She hadn't realized that it would accelerate her... er... urges as well. This was because she had replaced Re'em blood with troll blood and trolls were known to have a lot of sex. In fact, that's all they did: eat, fight and fuck, when they were not sleeping. Thankfully her desires weren't strong right now but she guessed they will become so as she grew up and became a teenager and later an adult. At least she wouldn't be like Voldemort who had sex only twice over his long life, once with a woman and once with a man. Both times it was to see what it was all about and he had come to the conclusion that it wasn't for him. She was slightly relieved to be honest as it had been an unconscious worry of her that she might find sexual activities uninteresting just like him. So, she was looking forward to it but for now the impulses were mostly weak and she had them under control.

Though on occasions her desires would work overtime, like right now, as Hermione, who was already sitting close, was biting her lower lip while working on a potion's essay and looking absolutely adorable. Suppressing the urge to take that lip between her own, she got up and pulled her friend along to go to the oval for training session. Hermione had also asked to join the training when she was informed of the arrangement and had given her word to never betray or deceive her.

They had decided to have sessions on Thursdays and Fridays after lunch as none of them had any classes then. Today was the first session and she was going to teach them how to use levitation spell to hurl objects. It was actually not an efficient way to do so, as banishing the object worked better, but she couldn't justify knowing the banisher spell just yet. She would slowly start teaching them advanced stuff making them proficient in magical combat and magic in general. They were practically her followers now, and she could't have dunces among her followers.

XXXXX

Winter holidays had started and Helen along with Padma and Su were the only first year Ravenclaws left in the castle. Over the last few months Helen had become fluent in Sanskrit under Padma's tutelage and could now read heavy texts on them easily. She had also convinced Su to start teaching her Cantonese and they would start initial instructions during the holidays. Unfortunately, she didn't know any martial arts as it wasn't something she was interested in so Helen decided to find some muggle instructors over the summer holidays.

Helen had also made progress in determining her animagus form. By now she knew it was a bird of some kind with dark plumage so likely something from Corvus genus probably a crow or a raven. After finding that her form would be useful and not something stupid as a lion or a tiger, she had decided to pursue becoming an animagus. But it would be on back burner for now as she had more pressing needs for the moment. Like enchanting and alchemy.

Her little project for the forbidden corridor had helped expand her understanding of enchanting principles. She had enchanted a few small items for practice since then. Like a comb to untangle knots, a few cushions to become warm whenever someone sits on them and the curtains in her room to darken whenever someone was asleep nearby. Her real goal with enchanting was to make a combat gear to help her out in fights. Very few wizards and witches did that. Sure, enchanted clothes were a norm in the wizarding world, but they had simple enchantments like lengthening or shrinking, color changing, temperature control and in a few cases some basic protection spells applied over it.

What she really wanted was truly enchanted gear with the augmentations embedded in the material and not just applied over afterwards. And the enhancements that she planned for weren't so mundane as color changing charms. But that was all for later as she wasn't an expert in enchanting yet so she would continue with small objects for now.

She hadn't started on alchemy yet. The reason was one had to have a sound background of several other fields of magic before they could make heads or tails on the subject. These fields were transfiguration, potions and arithmancy. What most magicians didn't realize was that to be a master alchemist one had to have sound knowledge and understanding of chemistry as well. It was for this reason she was reading a huge volume of physical chemistry right now. Students had left for their homes yesterday and today was Sunday so everybody was sleeping in late.

The Ravenclaw tower was internally heated so they didn't had to worry about the cold or heavy clothes. Helen had decided to read in the common room instead of the oval as there weren't many Ravens left in the house. She was still in her nightwear of plaid flannel blue shorts with a short white camisole and a blue silk open robe over it. She had been in the common room for over an hour now and had made a good headway into the text when Hilliard and White entered after having breakfast and came to a stand still to admire the sight in front of them.

Helen had been so engrossed in her reading that she had forgotten where she was and had shifted into a comfortable lying position. The shift had completely removed her robe and was currently giving a show to the boys down her top. By now her body was going through puberty and her breasts had started developing. They were small A cup size as of now and were currently almost completely on display to the boys.

Hilliard being a gentleman stopped perving and loudly cleared his throat notifying Helen of their presence. Helen sat up and looked behind at the two boys and greeted, "Good morning, Robert. Good morning, Chester."

She looked askance at their mumbled replies and blushing faces. Taking a glance downwards she realized that she was giving them quite a show and adjusted her camisole so that they could talk normally.

They joined her after getting their own books and chatted about OWLs and their gigantic syllabus. Soon they were joined by a couple of seventh years who had also stayed over the holidays to work on their NEWTs projects. They together with one sixth year and Padma and Su were all that were left behind over the holidays in Ravenclaw.

Helen realized that she was a bit aroused after giving the boys a show and was finding it difficult to concentrate on her reading. Soon, the boys left for their dormatory and Helen decided that she wouldn't be making any more progress and followed their action. In the oval she found Padma and Su getting ready to leave for breakfast. Helen had already had her's so she declined their invitation. With nothing left to do, she decided to take care of her problem.

She leaned back on the couch and slipped her left hand under her camisole. She started caressing the underside of her left breast while her right hand did the same to her right thigh. Slowly her fingers started closing in towards her areola and teased it without touching her nipple. She moved her finger in a circular motion around it, lightly touching its edges. After teasing for a few moments she moved in and pinched her nipple causing her to draw a sharp breath in pleasure. Her right hand which had been playing with the skin of her inner thighs, came up to play with her other unattended breast.

Both her hands worked in tandem for next several minutes, kneading and squeezing her breasts while alternatively frisking and lightly pinching her rock hard nipples bringing her pleasure and causing several sighs and moans from her mouth.

Soon her right started descending downwards and slipped under her shorts and panties to find a very wet opening. She fondled her lower lips for a few moments and then brought her fingers slightly upwards to find a nub on top of her opening. She started playing with it, rubbing it, flicking it and lightly pinching it. As her excitement increased so did her speed and soon she was on the cusp of her first orgasm. She pinched both her nipple and clitoris hard and the dam broke. She gave a deep drawn moan as waves after waves of pleasure and glorious shocks rode her body. She remained catatonic for a minute letting the waves ride out and letting the pleasure subside.

Coming down for her high, she sighed and cleaned herself up with a wave of her wand. While adjusting her clothes she realized that she should have done this before and that Voldemort was missing a lot. As she sat and opened her book again, she discerned that soon masturbating wouldn't be enough and she would have to find someone or someones to satisfy her needs without anyone finding out.

Her first thought was of those she found attractive and date-able. Cedric was certainly her first choice, with Hermione and Blaise good options too. She however recognized that not one single partner would be able to handle her needs and she would need multiple partners to satisfy herself. It was a good thing she found both boys and girls attractive and she already had a few people interested in her. But she would have to wait till second year to openly date someone as dating as an 11 years old was not ideal. And it was likely Hermione and Blaise weren't ready for it mentally or physically, despite Hermione's crush on her or Blaise's suave tendencies. She will have to find a few friends with benefits till then.

XXXXX

Christmas morning greeting Helen with a snowfall. She had woken up early as usual while it was still dark out and had trained till seven in the morning. On returning to her oval room she found piles of presents on the table which probably the house elves would have gathered while she was out training. Feeling a bit of Christmas cheer she woke up Padma and Su so they could open their presents together. None of them celebrated Christmas as a religious event obviously. Magicians didn't follow any known religions, most could be considered animistic as they knew that everything in the universe had a sort of imprint, a soul if you would. Moreover most of the religious figures in the history were obviously wizards. Even a first year could turn water into wine.

Soon, they had gathered around the table and had divided the presents into smaller piles for respective recipient. Helen had received a lot of presents from her friends. Cedric and Blaise each had sent her boxes of chocolates with bouquets, orange and lavender roses from Blaise while Cedric had sent her lilies and carnations.

Padma had given her tomes in Sanskrit about rare magical practices in India and a few yellow mountain flowers which she requested that Helen keep with her all the time being the only heiress of an ancient house. This particular flower was very rare and grow in the valleys of Himalayas and had properties superior to a bezoar especially against mind manipulation potions and poisons. The quidditch team had pitched together and had gotten her top of the line quidditch gear set. Hermione had sent her a personalized journal with beautiful design on cover and small artwork along the margins of each page. Hagrid had sent her a handcrafted flute. She had also received a plethora of sweets for her other friends.

Helen had sent most of the girls clothing items. For each of her girl friend she had personally selected a dress or a top and skirt/short get up to match their styles and looks. Especially for the pureblood girls, she had chosen modern clothing like, for example, she had sent a blue dress suit with short pencil skirt and a white shirt for Daphne to introduce her to modern day fashion. The blue would bring out her eyes very well.

For Hermione however, she had also included a hair care kit which included shampoos, oils and potions to get them straighter. She had done so after realizing that Hermione hated her bushy hair and couldn't get them straight. The kit would get her hair to be wavy instead of bushy and could eventually completely straighten them out if she desired so. All she had to do was keep using the potion till getting the desired result and stop afterwards. The shampoo and oil were there to improve the texture and keep them healthy.

For Cedric she had sent a brown Citrine pendant to match his eyes while for Blaise she had gone with a silver and amethyst tie clip. She had enchanted both to keep them warm in cold weather. Everyone else received chocolates and sweets from her.

After opening her last gift, she noticed there was another gift lying at the bottom of the pile. It was loosely packed and didn't had the sender's name, instead there was a note attached to it, 'Your father left this in my possession when he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.' Helen recognized the hand-writing to be headmaster's. She collected all her presents and told the girls, "I'm going to keep them in my room. Will see you in half an hour." The girls agreed and did the same as well.

Inside the confines of her room, she took her wand out and carefully opened the package with its tip. Inside was a smooth folded fabric of some kind. Upon casting a detection charm she found a weak compulsion charm on it. On inspecting it further, she found that it would cause the person wearing the clothing article to have a desire of roam and explore. She then deduced Dumbledore's plan. He wanted her to roam around the castle and happen to stumble upon a clue or an indication that something of importance was hidden in the castle. 'Subtle manipulative bastard' she thought and took out the article. It was a cloak made of smooth fabric which was cool to touch. Putting it on she looked at herself in the mirror and dropped her jaw on the floor.

Her body was invisible under her neck. She looked down to confirm it and saw the floor under her with nothing in between. It was an invisibility cloak the like of which she, or rather Voldemort, had never seen. She had not detected the invisibility spell on it, neither did it had an invisibility enchantment. And it certainly wasn't made of demiguise hair being too smooth to touch. Recalling something on the note, she read it again. According to Dumbledore, and she believed him to not lie about this, her father also had this same cloak. So, it was safe to assume that it was atleast over 12 years old. Normal invisibility cloaks lasted less than that while demiguise would last upto 15 years max. So what she had over her shoulders was something special.

And there was only one special invisibility cloak in myths and stories. The death's own cloak of invisibility. Could it possibly be?

She sat down on the bed and thought about what she knew of the tale of the three brothers. It was speculated that the three brothers were Peverell brothers, but they had never confirmed it before their line disappeared. It was rumored that Potters' were descendants from the Peverells. She knew that Gaunts were certainly descendants from a different branch of that same family based on the Peverell coat of arms on the family ring which Voldemort had turned into a horcrux. So, it was a possibility that this could be the true cloak of invisibility being passed generation after generation in the Potter family as a family heirloom. She will have to test it.

For now though, she would have to pretend to be under compulsion and wander the castle to play Dumbledore's game.

XXXXX

She had found what he wanted her to find on the third night of wandering. It was a giant mirror with a strange text engraved on its frame '_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_', but she quickly realized it was written backwards and its reflection read, '_I show not your face but your heart's desire_'. She read it out loud for the benefit of her invisible stalker and looked into the mirror.

As soon as she looked at her reflection, it changed to show an older version of herself. She was about 20 years old and looked stunning. she was wearing black leather outfit consisting of a halter style top and tight pants with bracers and fingerless gloves as well as knee high boots. She also had a dark cloak at her back and was wearing a tactical belt over her hips. There was a hilt of sword poking out from her right hope and looked like a Japanese Katana. Her burgundy hairs were open and flowing lightly in the air and her eyes were bright and vibrant. Several figures were kneeling in front of her looking up at her. Some with love and adoration, some with wonder and awe and some with fear and terror.

Helen rather liked the image and knew that this women was certainly what her heart desired to be. Dumbledore decided to cut her enjoyment short and showed himself at that moment.

"Captivating, is it not?" he asked in a grandfatherly voice.

She turned around quickly and acted startled, "Headmaster? What are you doing here?"

Dumbledore chuckled in amusement, "I could ask you the same thing."

Helen blushed a bit and ducked her head. "Sorry, sir."

"It is quite alright, my girl." he said kindly. After a moment he continued, "Do you realize what the mirror shows?"

Helen nodded looking back at the mirror, "It shows what I want the most."

"Indeed, the Mirror of Erised does not reflect ourselves, but the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts." Dumbledore clarified. "Men have wasted away before it, yearning for what it shows them, even if they know it to be impossible. Perhaps especially if they know it to be impossible."

"What do you see, sir?" Helen ventured carefully, knowing that it was a personal question.

He looked at the mirror with a sad expression on his face. Interesting, so whatever he desired the most, he couldn't get it.

"I see myself getting a pair of thick wooly socks for Christmas." He finally answered. "People always get me books for Christmas, you see."

Helen of course knew this was a lie. She hadn't really expected him to answer truthfully but she had to ask.

"Orphans often see their parents returned to them, would I be correct in guessing that this is what it shows you?" Dumbledore asked, fishing for an opening.

Helen had another answer prepared for such question, so she didn't go for the hook and answered, "No sir, it doesn't." surprising him and continued, "It shows me surrounded by my friends and all of us seem happy, enjoying each others company." It was almost the truth even.

Dumbledore seemed a bit relieved and spoke, "Ah, a desire for companionship. I've noticed you've made a lot of friends from all the houses. That is very commendable. One cannot enjoy any powers or riches unless they have someone to enjoy them with. Friends and family are the most valuable treasure one can have."

After a brief pause he continued, "The mirror will be moved to a new location tomorrow. I hope you don't go looking for it."

Soon they parted each with thoughts in their head. Dumbledore pondered how this new information could be used to inspire a sense of loyalty and responsibility towards Wizarding Britain in Helen Potter.

Helen left with a complete picture of what Dumbledore had planned for the corridor and for her. Though she agreed with Dumbledore on the topic of friends. Being on top but not having anyone to enjoy it with seemed like a bore. On this matter she was certainly different from Voldemort as all he cared about was being on the top alone. He could not fathom the concept of companionship.

XXXXX

The students returned as the break ended and the classes resumed. Hermione had given her a tight hug on returning, thanking her for the gift. Her hair already looked a bit less bushier indicating that the gift had already been put to use. All the girls had thanked her for their new outfits. Tracey was over the moon for her new silver pumps.

Ever since her first quidditch match, when Snape had countered Quirrell's curse, Helen had started having a soft spot for the man. She had realized then that he wasn't on either Dumbledore's or the dark lord's side. All he cared for was Lily and her memory. She wanted to focus that devotion towards her and had started working on it. She would sit right in front and center during potions class to be in his eyesight all the time. She did her work meticulously and precisely to remind him of her mother.

In the beginning of the year, he had asked her questions to find a way to torment James Potter's child. Now, his tone and questions had changed and he would ask them to make sure she had understood the subtleties and the refinement of the subject. They would somethings have a one-on-one in-depth discussions which none other in the class understood. That he got an excuse to look at her familiar beautiful face and eyes for longer was a pleasant bonus.

Helen, in turn got a master's view and approach to the art of potion making which would help her in her alchemy studies. She also believed that she could turn him over completely to her side with the right application of determination, charm and maybe even seduction, after all she did look like the woman he loved.

XXXXX

Helen had visited Hagrid again, this time with Hermione, Susan and Hannah and spent a pleasant afternoon at his cabin drinking tea and catching up. She had asked him about Potter ancestral manor. Hagrid didn't know much but that it was rumored to have been destroyed during a death eater raid which had killed her Grandparents, Charlus Potter and Dorea Potter née Black.

From Voldemort's memory she knew that the killing of elder Potters was true. He had ordered the kill before having learned of prophecy as they had strong political position in Wizengamot and had blocked several of his agendas. He didn't know what had happened to the manor.

Helen hoped that it had survived, so that she could have her own place sooner rather then later, but knew it was unlikely. She planned on checking it out during the summer.

XXXXX

The second set of quidditch matches had come and gone, putting Griffindor out of contention for the quidditch cup this year. They were defeated by a brilliant Hufflepuff team with the final score of 120-370. Cedric had caught the snitch after a smart maneuver which had left McLaggen befuddled. After the match there was a party in the Hufflepuff common room to which Helen was invited. Their common was in the upper dungeons near the kitchens and had a pile of barrels as their entrance. One had to knock them in a particular rhythm to gain entrance, that's it, no changing passwords or riddles. Friendly house indeed. The common room had an earthy feel to it and had high windows which she realized would be at ground level.

Helen had worn a mustard yellow A-line cold shoulder dress to the party in the honor of the house, something which they had appreciated and had her hair done in an elaborate bun. Susan and Hannah had utilized their gifts and had attended the party in their own trendy outfits. The party was a merry event with lots of games, chatter and dancing. She had danced several times with Cedric, but had been spared by the rest, thankfully for her feet. Cedric on the otherhand had a busy night as every girl wanted to dance with the handsome boy who had won them the game. Helen was pleased though as everytime a girl approached him, he would look at her, as if asking for approval. At 9 O'clock Sprout had come to collect her and deliver her to her common room. Before she had left, she had given Cedric a close hug and a lingering kiss on his cheek as his reward and a promise for future.

Her own match against the Slytherin was a brutal affair. Hard and dangerous tactics, multiple fouls, cracked ribs and a concussion, it had them all. They knew that Slytherin would play rough so they had prepared accordingly. The chasers and beaters were instructed to play fire with fire and had gone in with a similar approach to the Slytherin. They would play a counter-attacking game with quick long passes on offensive and a vicious defense. The strategy had partially worked as the whole Slytherin team had to get in on the action, leaving Helen relatively and she had closed the match after an hour of play by catching the snitch. Ravenclaw had won the game narrowly by 190-150. They didn't had a party afterwards as half of the team had to spend the night in the hospital.

This had left Hufflepuff leading with 170 points, Slytherin second with 150 points, Ravenclaw third with 120 points and Griffindor nowhere in sight with -440 points.

The last set of the Quidditch matches started with Hufflepuff facing Slytherin. It had been rumored that Hufflepuff had trained extremely hard over the last month to finally end their dry spell. It turned out that rumors were true based on what happened in the match. Hufflepuff destroyed Slytherin with a massive scoreline of 450-160 giving them an insurmountable lead of 460 points. In order to win the cup, Ravenclaw would have to defeat Griffindor by atleast by 340 points, an unheard of figure. And they did try their level best, but after 5 hours of game play, with a score line of 210-200, they knew it was not possible and they didn't want to risk McLaggen catching the snitch accidentally. So, Helen caught the snitch ending the match 360-200 in their favor. Ravenclaw kept a perfect record over the season, winning all their matches, courtesy of Helen catching the snitch in her every match. Hufflepuff won the quidditch cup for the first time in decades with a massive point tally of 460, with Ravenclaw coming second at 280.

Helen still had managed to earn accolades for being the youngest and the best seeker for the year. She had caught the snitch in all the matches she played. Ravenclaw were content being in the second place this year knowing that with her in the team, next year was going to be theirs. And her performances had made her very popular among her housemates who by now knew to always heed her council and inputs.

XXXXX

Over the term she had started to spend more time in the common room, being seen and chatting with the upper years. Her quidditch teammates were openings into several years with only 6th year having no representation on the team. She didn't interact much with 6th and 7th years for that reason and also because they would be leaving soon especially in the case of 7th years. It gave her too little time to influence them.

She had already made a few friends in all years upto the 5th. She had also identified a few who could become her friends with benefits. She had kept this list limited only to Ravenclaw for now as others wouldn't be available on short notice. Two of her teammates were on this list, namely, Roger Davies and Chester White. Both were good looking boys who were attracted to her. There was also a 4th year girl, Arya Williams, a muggleborn who fancied her and could be useful whenever she wanted a woman's touch.

Outside Ravenclaw she had friends in all the houses. In Griffindor apart from Hermione, she was friendly Fred and George Weasley with whom she had very affable relations. They had also come to an understanding that Helen would sometimes make or provide them some enchanted items for their pranks and in return she and her friends will not be targeted by any serious or harmful prank. Helen herself wasn't into pranking but was mightily entertained by their antics so she assisted them from time to time.

In Hufflepuff she had Susan, Hannah and Cedric. A few of Cedric friends and all the rest of first years were on speaking terms with her. She would occasionally have a meal at their table. In Slytherin she only had her three first year friends in Daphne, Tracey and Blaise. She was on speaking terms with Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson as well but certainly couldn't count them among her friends. Helen's year was a bit unusual as in there were so many heirs to important houses in her year. But this helped her in a way as she didn't had to focus too much on other years to get potentially noteworthy within her network.

Just like Voldemort, she was also planning on forming her own inner circle and already knew some of the candidates. However unlike the dark lord's inner circle, her's wouldn't be so monotonous by having just male pureblood blood-supremacists in it. No, she wanted diversity in her primary unit of management. What was the point of having a council if everyone had the same advice and suggestions?

XXXXX

Hermione had somehow figured out that the philosopher's stone was hidden in the forbidden corridor on her own. Apparently someone, Fred and George, in Griffindor had tried getting past Fluffy and Hermione had overheard them talking about it to Lee Jordan, their partner in pranks. Then she had asked Hagrid about it and he had accidentally let slip that whatever was in the forbidden corridor when business concerning Nicolas Flamel and headmaster Dumbledore, from which she deduced the stone was hidden here. It was fascinating that she had figured out the secrets that were hidden from the general masses with just two lines of conversation, she really was brilliant. When she had come to Helen with this information, the latter admitted that she already knew of it and didn't wanted to say anything for the fear that the secret might get out.

Hermione however believed that Snape was trying it steal it. Helen couldn't correct her because that would led to giving out information she couldn't have known normally. But she did let it on that she wasn't convinced about that.

XXXXX

Exams had arrived and they brought high levels of anxiety among the student body. Hermione was spending more and more time in the Ravenclaw tower where things were planned and organized for revisions and practices, very unlike in Griffindor where, according to her, 'people were running around like headless chickens' and her fellow first years keep begging her to lend her notes. Getting an idea, Helen had invited her other friends too for the study sessions and thus it was a common sight of finding Susan, Hannah, Daphne, Tracey and Blaise in the first year oval studying along with the ravens and Hermione.

Due to this the exams were actually a breeze for the group. Helen was sure they would all occupy the top spots in their year. As for herself, she only wrote the exams with the minimum required answers. She would answer the questions correctly but would not elaborate more than just what was needed in all her tests, except for potions where she went all out.

In the practical portion of the exams her group did very well especially those who were training under her. She had them up to the level of a second year in DADA and halfway there in charms as well, not that they realized it. But their real training was mostly oriented towards combat spells but offensive and defensive as well as some physical training liking dodging and jumping.

For her own practical exams, Helen performed all the spells correctly in the wanded subjects, correctly handled her flora in the herbology portion and made a perfect Forgetfulness potion receiving a nod from Professor Snape.

They had just finished last of their exams and were laying on a rock overlooking the lake. The group consisted of all her first year friends apart from Hermione who had gone to meet Hagrid. The day was hot so they had taken off their robes, ties and shoes. The boys were tossing pieces of bread to the giant squid and the girls were discussing their last exam. Helen, Lisa and Daphne were just lying with their feet in the cool water, relaxing a little bit away from the chatting girls.

It was at this moment that Hermione chose to join them. However, she wasn't relaxed at all but rather seemed agitated. She approached Helen and in a restrained quiet voice asked, "Can I talk to you for a moment, its urgent?"

Helen looked up at her wondering what this was about. "Alright." She got up and walked away a bit with Hermione. As soon as they were out of earshot Hermione started frantically, "Snape is going to steal the stone tonight." As Helen looked askance at her, she explained, "Hagrid just told me that last night he got drunk and told some hooded fellow how to calm Fluffy done." This got Helen's attention. "I'm certain Snape's going for it tonight."

Helen interjected, "Ok, first we are not sure if its Snape. Second, Fluffy cannot be the only defense for the stone, there have to be more of them. Thirdly, we could just tell this to the headmaster and he will look into it. So, don't panic, we'll go to the headmaster now." Internally, Helen was conflicted. On the one hand, she was relieved did she wouldn't have to do anything now, just inform the headmaster and that would be it. On the other hand, she wanted to find out what exactly the deal was with Quirrell. Guess, she'll have to let headmaster handle him.

As it turned out, Dumbledore had just left the castle to go to the ministry on some urgent work.

On a broom.

From Scotland to London.

Bull*cough*shit. He certainly was setting her up to face Quirrell. Now, the question was how to go about it.

She knew Hermione would come along now that she knew that there was no one to defend it after McGonagall had brushed aside their concerns. They went to the oval room to plan. There they found Lisa and Daphne waiting for them. It seems, they had overheard the conversation and knew we were going to do something dangerous. They demanded to know what was going on and Helen decided to let them in on the secret. After learning about it, they were worried and wanted in on the plan. They decided to all go together. Helen and Lisa would collect Hermione and they would meet Daphne in the charms corridor at 10 O'clock tonight.

Helen had gone with comfortable and maneuverable clothing options of a pair of denim shorts with T-shirt and soft sneakers. She already knew what she was going to face so she planned ahead as she couldn't use the same approach as last time because she would have company. She took the invisibility cloak, donned it and sneaked into Lisa's room. Lisa was startled a bit when she suddenly appeared in her room, but didn't make any sound as Helen had told her that she would do so. She was surprised and fascinated by the cloak though. They sneaked past Micheal and Terry playing chess while discussing which girls they found most attractive. Lisa suppressed her giggles and gave her a silent ribbing when her name came on top.

They made it to the entrance of Griffindor tower and waited for Hermione to appear. She did a minute later, quietly stepping out from behind the fat lady and looked around trying to locate them. Helen revealed them by opening the cloak a bit and beckoned her. After she had admired the cloak, they quickly moved downstairs towards the charms corridor. Daphne was already waiting for them, hiding in an alcove near the entrance of the corridor.

They together moved quickly towards the forbidden corridor and approached the last door from where they could hear light notes of music coming from it. They looked at each other knowing what that meant. Someone was already ahead of them. Helen knew that already having seen Quirrell entering on her monitoring device.

She folded her cloak and put it in her pocket and they proceeded forward. On carefully opening the door they found Fluffy sleeping with a harp playing soft notes on its own and the trapdoor opened on the floor. They peered inside and couldn't see anything. Hermione showed them why she was a Griffindor and decided to jump in. She landed on a soft surface and called them to follow as it was safe. Lisa and Daphne followed and took a leap as well. Helen shook her head at their carelessness and followed to save her friends from the expected troubles. The girls had tried to move and the devil's snare had started to coil around their feet making them panic. Helen casted a 'Lumos' spell and the tendrils recoiled from the light, freeing the girls and dropping them down below.

Helen with her quick reflexes landed on her feet while the rest fell on their bum. They got up rubbing their sore bottoms and thanked her for saving them from the murderous plant. They proceeded to the next room and found the keys. Daphne determined the right key and Helen caught it in a short order using the broom.

They entered the next room and found the giant chess set, however, the white side was missing a few pieces probably blasting away by whoever had come earlier. Helen ordered them to occupy the empty spaces and proceeded to again defeat the opponent in 4 moves using the same move of Scholar's mate, apparently this set didn't learn from past games. Lisa and Daphne were astonished but Hermione recognized the move and explained them the details.

They opened the next door carefully with their wands out after Hermione identified the smell to be that of a troll. The said troll was lying in a pool of its own blood, very dead judging by its head lying a few feet away from the body. Gagging they quickly made across the chamber and entered the next room. Of course, as soon as they entered the doors were covered in fire. Helen pointed to the rack of potions and the parchment, which on inspecting they found contained a riddle. Lisa and Hermione quickly figured out the riddle and indicated the potions which would get them through the doors. The problem was that the potion that let them move forward was only enough for one person while the rest 3 could share the other one which would allow them to go back.

Helen ordered them to go back and get help while she would go forward and see what see could do. They protested of course, but she overruled them and after receiving hugs she chugged the potion and walked through the door.

Inside, she found Quirrell staring at the mirror of Erised trying to figure out its secret. She knew that he had realized her entering the chamber but ignored her to continue to work out the puzzle. Helen was a bit miffed on being ignored and in order to distract him loudly said, "You?" in a surprised voice.

He turned then and looked at her fully, "Me, I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

Using Hermione's guess she said, "I thought Snape was the one trying to steal it."

"Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?" he said.

He went on to explain how he tried to kill her during the Quidditch match and how he was the one who had let the troll in on Halloween. Helen let him deliver his spiel as more he spoke more time he wasted before help arrived.

Suddenly however, he bound her non-verbally in ropes and went back to the mirror to figure out how to get the stone.

After failing for a few minute, a voice came from his turban, "_Use the girl_." Helen recognized that this was Voldemort's voice. She suddenly was afraid that he himself was here somehow.

Quirrell quickly vanished the ropes and forced her in front of the mirror. She of course knew how to get the stone and felt it slip in her shorts pocket.

"What do you see?" Quirrell asked impatiently.

"I see my parents" I replied using Dumbledore's example.

"_She lies!_" the voice said. "_Let me face her_."

"Master, you are not strong enough." Quirrell said.

"_I'm strong enough for this._"

Quirrell started taking of his turban them and turned around. Voldemort's face was stuck at the back of his head. Helen was a bit relieved on seeing him there as a parasite because it meant he wasn't strong enough to even carry himself.

He started, "_See what I've become? __Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body ... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds ... once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own ... Now ... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?_"

So he knew.

Of course he knew.

She tried pulling out her wand but Voldemort had sound control of Quirrell's body and made him turn around and disarm her.

"_How amusing, you think you could fight back against me?_" Helen did think that and had underestimated his control over the body. He continued, "_I always value bravery ... Yes, girl, your parents were brave as well ... I killed your father first and he put up a courageous fight ... but your mother needn't have died ... she was trying to protect you ... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain._"

As she refused, he ordered Quirrell to seize her and get the stone. Quirrell lunged forward to grab her. She tried to dodge but his reach was too long and he caught her arm. He let go suddenly however as if he was burned. And he was, as blisters formed on his fingers before his eyes.

"It burns!" he screamed.

Voldemort shouted "_Seize her! SEIZE HER!_"

"Master, I cannot hold her - my hands - my hands!"

"_Then kill her fool, and be done!_"

Before he could point his wand at her again, Helen sprang forward and grabbed his neck in both her hands. His skin started burning and blistering under her touch. Helen grabbed his face and helped the burning along by summoning some elemental fire in her palms and pushed it into Quirrell. Immediately his skin charred and his eyes popped due to the extreme heat. Voldemort gave a scream as the skull he was residing turned into dust and flew out to form a dark spirit cloud. He wailed and passed through her body draining her of her magic. As she collapsed and her world begin to darken she saw Dumbledore rushing in and then all she saw was black...

XXXXX

She slowly gained consciousness and realized she was lying in a bed. As she opened her eyes she found herself in the hospital wing. The chair next to her was occupied by the headmaster.

He greeted her with a smile, "Good afternoon, Helen."

She replied, "Professor Dumbledore" with a week nod and asked, "Is the stone safe?"

He answered evasively, "Quirrell didn't get the stone" and then continued with an amused smile "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows."

"How long have I been in here?"

"It's the next day after your last night adventure. You've been out only for about half a day, though you might feel a bit weak for a day or two as your magical core was completely exhausted and thus you're suffering from what is called a magical exhaustion. It generally takes 2 to 3 days to recover from but I think Madam Pomfrey will let you out in a few hours."

Helen nodded at the information and again asked, "Sir, about the stone..."

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. What do remember last?"

"I remember Quirrell burning under my touch and then Voldemort coming out of him and attacking me in his spirit form. Why did he burn by my touch?" She didn't know why that happened.

"Lets come back to that question in a moment. I arrived in time to see the demise of our poor defense professor and I did see Voldemort attacking you. Sadly, I was just a bit too late to prevent that from happening. I did manage to catch you just as you fell, however by that time he had managed to fled. As for the stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Helen blankly.

"Yes, Nicolas and I had a little chat and together destroyed it. He and his wife have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order."

"But they will eventually die." Helen stated.

Dumbledore smiled and calmly said "To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them."

'Going to bed, my cute little arse' Helen thought to herself. For someone who had been around for six centuries to destroy his only source of long life and immortality just because a dark lord was after it didn't seem rational. They must have made other stones, that's the only logically conclusion and will probably fake their deaths in a few years and disappear.

After sitting in silence for a while she asked, "Sir, even with the stone gone, Vol... I mean You-Know-who - "

"Call him Voldemort, Helen. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes sir. Well, Voldemort will certainly try other methods to come back. He isn't gone, is he?" Helen fished around.

"No, Helen, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share ... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Helen, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time – and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

So he was setting her up against the dark lord. He obviously knew the whole prophecy, as it was given to him. She would have to find out the complete thing.

So she asked not expecting him to answer "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me ... things I want to know the truth about ..."

"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

'So he wasn't going to tell her. Oh well, lets get this over with then' she thought to herself and asked, "Well ... Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"

Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day ... put it from your mind for now, Helen. When you are older ... I know you hate to hear this ... when you are ready, you will know."

And Helen knew it would be no good to push so she went to her next question.

"So why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign ... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection for ever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Helen deduced the reality from that statement. She likely did a sacrificial ritual with her as a sacrifice to cast protection on her and Voldemort just came and triggered it by killing her. Then, the ritual was completed as he tried to kill her. Yeah, that would do the trick, as sacrificial rituals were extremely powerful especially when the sacrifice was voluntary. She must be very knowledgeable to come up with a ritual on the spot and execute it perfectly. She might have even planned it beforehand as a last resort. One thing is for sure, she definitely wasn't as light as the world thought her to be.

"Sir, one last thing, how did I get the stone out of the mirror?" she asked hoping for him to give away the magic behind it or how he managed to hide it in the mirror in the first place.

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone – find it, but not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes ... Now, enough questions. Your friends are waiting outside, we shouldn't keep them long."

'Cheeky bastard' Helen thought in amusement, as he told her nothing in that statement which she hadn't already known.

Madam Pomfrey only let four people in and Hermione, Lisa, Daphne and Cedric came in. She received hugs from all three girls and an awkward smile from Cedric who looked like he wanted to hug her as well but thought it inappropriate. She beckoned him forward and gave him a hug as well easing his troubles.

"We were so worried when Dumbledore carried you out of there unconscious" Hermione started.

"What happened?" Daphne asked the important question.

She told them about everything that happened in the last room including the presence of Voldemort.

"So he's still alive..." Lisa said fearfully.

"And he came after me specifically, that night. Dumbledore just confirmed it. So, its logical to think he will come after me again."

They all look worried at that.

She continued, "I'll just have to face him again then. I'm not one to run."

Hermione immediately added, "And you'll not face him alone. I'll be with you." Others also quickly gave their consent.

Helen was pleased and now had a cause to rally people to her. She now also had a cause to not hold her back too much. If she did accidentally show some advanced knowledge, she could chalk it onto the preparation for the eventual showdown with the dark lord.

She told them that she would be out in a few hours and will meet all her friends soon. They soon left and Madam Pomfrey came to fuss over her.

XXXXX

Helen entered the oval to find all her dorm-mates plus Hermione waiting for her. She again told the details of her adventures and they had the same reaction as those in the hospital before.

However, Padma surprised her as she pulled out her wand and pointing it at her heart said, "I, Padma Patil, pledge my life and magic, to follow and support, Helen Lilian Potter, in any way I can. I promise to hold all her secrets and to aid her in all her endeavors. I will hold this pledge until such time when I'm released from this oath by her and her alone."

Helen looked on shocked at her along with most of those present. Hermione looked confused at all them and Padma. Before she could ask anything though, Helen moved in front of Padma and formally replied, "I, Helen Lilian Potter, accept your oath, Padma Patil." There was a light glow around both their bodies indicating the acceptance of the oath. As soon as it faded Helen tightly hugged her. As she hugged her back, Helen asked "Why?"

Releasing her, she answered "You are going to fight You-Know-Who, you will need all the help you can get. And besides, my family was targeted by the death eaters in the last war and will be in danger again as soon as he returns. I was always going to fight him, but now there is no doubt about it."

As Helen hugged her again, Hermione finally asked "What's going on? What did she just do?"

Lisa explained to her, "She just made a magical oath to follow Helen. And she did it with both her life and magic. It means that if she breaks her oath she will loose both her life and magic, making it impossible for her to go back on her words and live."

Hermione getting the seriousness of situation slowly asked "OK. Then why did Helen accept it if its so bad?"

Lisa answered again, "First, its not bad. Its just very rare for someone to make such an oath. Second, Helen could not have rejected it without implying that Padma's life and magic were worthless to her. Padma had just laid out her life and magic in front of her and if Helen had rejected it, it would have meant that she didn't value Padma at all."

"And I value her a lot." Helen interjected, "I value all my friends. They are all that I have." while holding the hand of her first follower.

That assuaged Hermione and she didn't argue further. Everyone else promised to help her but no more oaths were given. Soon the group got up and went out to relax in the sun before dinner.

XXXXX

Results were declared and, unsurprising, Hermione was first in the class, with Lisa second, Padma third and Helen fourth in their year. As Helen had predicted, all the top spots were occupied by her group with only Nott getting ahead of Hannah and Tracey, who were the least academically inclined of their group. Helen had gotten top marks in potions though, of which she surprisingly got a look of approval from Snape.

They were currently on the Hogwarts Express on their way back for the summer holidays. The group was very similar to the one on their first day with Susan, Hannah, Daphne, Tracey and Helen in the cabin. In addition Hermione and Lisa were also there. They were planning visits and shopping trips as Helen looked into the photo album Hagrid had given to her at the station. She would have to do something nice for him as this was a beautiful gift. It contained the pictures of her parents from the time they were at school upto and including their marriage. Smiling softly, she put it aside for now and joined in the conversation.

It was going to be a good summer.

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**Please Review. **

**There is also a poll on my page about Helen's animagus form. Please vote your preference.**

**Phew, a long one, this. A whopping 10K words. **

**Hope you enjoyed it. N****ext chapter the summer before 2nd year.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: ****Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**So, I'm back after a short break. I've done some editing to previous chapters but no further change in content. I'll not do more of it as it is time consuming and I still leave some errors behind, so its not productive either.**

**This is a light chapter, but there is some story progress and character/relation building in it. There are a couple of flashbacks in this chapter, tell me if you like them and should I include them in future.**

**Enjoy!**

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It was her birthday and Helen was having a party at the Grangers' house where she was invited to stay for a few days. The Dursleys' were shifting to their new house in Holland Park in London, so it was convenient for her to be here. Helen had gotten Vernon a new job as President in an multinational company that produced parts for all types of automotives and had their head office based in London. She did it for two reasons. First, she wanted to live in the city closer to where most of her required services were easily available and not out in the rural monotonous areas of Surrey. Second, she wanted to get away from the blood wards. She had discovered their real truth the day she returned.

_*Flashback*_

Petunia had dutifully picked her up from the station and had driven her back to privet drive. On reaching the Dursleys' place she absently entered the home thinking about all that she had planned to do this summer and how it would be difficult to so out here in Surrey. But soon after she entered the wards, what Dumbledore had said came to her mind. He had said she carried within her her mother's protection. She knew that it was based on the connection by the blood which they shared. Was it just a coincidence that Dumbledore had erected blood wards around the house.

She went out again, ignoring Petunia's query about supper and checked the wards again closely. She of course knew about them since the day of her awakening, but had only ever given them a customary inspection, identifying them as a blood ward and nothing more.

Now, on closer inspection, she found that they were indeed just blood wards but there were two anomalies. One, there was a monitoring charm hidden, embedded deep within the ward. It kept an eye on her health at all the times when she was in or near the wards. Two, Dumbledore had used her mother's sacrifice to power the wards, leaving the actual protection weakened.

This made her blood boil. She hadn't minded the wards themselves but to monitor her and use her mother's sacrifice to do it left her furious.

So, rather than doing what she had planned, she started working on getting out of this place. She couldn't tamper the wards themselves as Dumbledore would know immediately. Instead, within a week she got Vernon a new job in London. By the time they would move out, the wards would be charged due to her presence and Dumbledore would know any difference. She had also confunded his squib spy who lived a few blocks away to ignore what was happening at 4, privet drive.

The Dursleys' also got a good deal because of this. Vernon had a much higher paycheck now, making it feasible for him to own a large house in expensive Holland Park. They would put the Surrey house on sale as soon as the Hogwarts term started again. Petunia would have richer neighbors to gossip and compare gardens with. And Dudley would be attending school in capital, far better than that stupid Smeltings.

_*End Flashback*_

Helen looked at her reflection in the full length mirror. She had just come out of the shower and had a towel wrapped around her. Over the year her hair had turned lighter from black with red tint into dark burgundy completely. They were wet from her shower so she picked up her wand and dried them out. She could use her wand now as on the very next day after her return from Hogwarts, she had gone back to London to go the Diagon Alley.

_*Flashback*_

She had instructed her aunt to go out in London and return to the pub two hours later. Then, she proceeded inside and went to the Gringotts. She asked for a meet with the Potter account manager and after waiting for ten minutes met him in his office. From him she learned the general status of Potter accounts and properties.

As it turned out, Potter manor was indeed damaged and would require significant funds to repair. The cottage over in Godric's hallow had been seized by the ministry as a site of national importance. At least they had transferred money equal to the market value of the property to the Potter account, which wasn't much though.

Potters didn't own any other property in England, however they did have an island near the Azores, made untraceable and hidden. It was like a get away and a vacation home for the Potters with a small manor on it. She didn't had time this year though might go check it out next year. Right now however it wasn't that useful to her as she couldn't live there, isolated from the rest of the world.

Potters didn't had much liquid assets, little over a hundred thousand galleons which included money from the 'sale' of the cottage in Godric's Hallow. But it was enough for Helen till she graduated.

She went to her vault and made a generous withdrawal so as to last her the whole summer. Then she went into the Knockturn alley after donning the robes with hood she was carrying. She went into a side alley near the entrance where more 'grey' businesses were situated. She entered a plain looking door and found a man sitting behind the counter.

"I need a new wand and the trace removed from the one I'm carrying." She said smoothly.

"Let's see the wand." the man replied not asking her to remove the hood. Taking the offered wand, he put it in a weird looking mechanism with a stand inside it made just to hold wands. Shutting the glass door of the contraption, he poured a navy blue potion in it from a hole in the top and left it there.

"Now, while that works, we shall find you a wand."

Thirty minutes later Helen left the shop 200 galleons lighter with trace removed from her primary wand and a secondary wand in the form of Blackthorn and dragon heartstring 13 inches, in an invisible untraceable ankle holster. The wand obviously didn't had any trace on it.

She went to the apothecary and got several ingredients that she would require for the potions she would be making and experiments she would be conducting in order to advance her alchemy studies.

With that done she went back to the pub and had her aunt drive her back home.

_*End Flashback*_

With her hair now dry, she looked over at her body. She had lost most of her baby fat by now making her cheekbones and jaw to sharply standout. Her lips were fuller as well and had a natural pink color in them making her not need lip colors most of the time. Her eyes were still their vibrant green and shown with power. She moved her gaze downwards and saw her long slender and shapely legs. She had grown considerably over the year and now stood at 5'4", well above average for girls her age and taller than most of the boys.

She dropped the towel and looked at the whole picture. While she was tall, it didn't look disproportionate. She didn't look stretched or anything. What she looked like was not 12. No, she looked more like how a runway model would look at thirteen. If she wanted to she could become a teen model next year something she was a bit interested in if it didn't take much of her time. She estimated that by the time she started 4th year at Hogwarts her body would have reached its final height and She was already getting an hourglass figure and her breasts had grown into small B cups and were firm with pink nipples that were pointing out currently. She turned slightly to look at her bum. It was round and perky and looked good along with her shapely legs.

As she was observing herself, there was a knock on the door and Hermione entered without waiting for a reply, already speaking, "Helen, are you rea-EEP!"

Helen didn't turn from her inspection and asked, "Could you close the door behind please. I don't want your father to see me naked."

She followed the instruction and stood by with her eyes on her feet.

"What do you think of my bum?"

"What?!" Hermione asked startled.

"What do you think of my bum? How does it look?"

She stared at the said bum for few seconds and jerked her eyes back down realizing where she was looking at, blushing furiously.

"Well?"

"Uhh... It looks lovely." she replied. Comprehending what she said, she backtracked, "NO! No I didn't mean that!"

"What? You mean it doesn't look lovely?" Helen asked turning around.

"NO! Of course it looks lovely." She blushed further on seeing her breasts and ducked her head again.

"So you like it?" Helen asked with a mischievous smirk on her face, not that Hermione saw it, as she moved to the bed and bent down to pick up her bra, giving the girl a perfect view to inspect before answering.

"Yes. It's perfect." she answered distractedly, with her mind on the enticing view.

Helen picked up the matching panties and slid them up, wiggling unnecessarily to tease her further. When it was in place, she turned around and smiled at the girl who was trying to emulate a ripe tomato and said brightly, "Thank you! That was a very nice complement."

She couldn't reply with all the blood in her head and just nodded. Helen picked up the dress, stepped into it and pulled it up. Turning around she asked, "Could you help me with the zipper please?" presenting her back to the girl. She shuffled towards her and zipped her up trying to not touch the skin. She failed and sent pleasant shiver across Helen's body as her fingers brushed her bare skin, making her sigh. She mumbled "sorry" and stepped back with her work done.

Helen turned and kissed the girl on her cheek, making her blush again, and said "Thank you."

She continued, "Just give me a moment, while I put up some make-up." She started doing the same as Hermione sat down at the edge of the bed. Looking at the girl in the mirror, Helen said, "Sorry about teasing you. I just couldn't help it." she smirked her when she looked up. Continuing she said "Though to be fair, you did barge in without waiting for an answer."

Hermione dropped her head, "Yeah, I did. I guess I deserve a bit of teasing."

Done with her work, Helen got up and turned around spinning flaring her dress a bit and asked, "How do I look?"

She was wearing a fit and flare V-neck dress in emerald green color that ended above her knees. She had matched it with simple golden short heals and a single emerald pendant on a thin golden chain with matching tops. She had applied dark green eye shadow with light blush and a transparent lip gloss.

Hermione looked at her, captivated, then shook her head and replied, "You look gorgeous." she then looked at her critically and said, "The dress and make-up bring out your eyes. Very nice effect."

"Thank you. That is what I was going for as well." Helen replied pleased and continued, "You look wonderful as well. That dress is very cute and looks appealing on you"

And she did. She was wearing a white summer dress with an inch thick shoulder straps and had dark green leaves and dark orange flowers printed on it covering more than half of the white background. She had matched it with plain white heals and had no accessories on her. Her brown hair had by now turned straight and she had styled them layered with a small side part reaching just below her shoulders. She had also applied light make-up with black eyeliner and pink lipstick.

Helen had to suppress the urge to taste those lips and pulled her up to go outside. They went to the backyard where everybody had gathered and as soon as they entered, everyone burst into the Birthday song.

Most of her friends were present, though a few couldn't make it on account of being out on vacations or visiting family members. All her ravenclaw year-mates were there except Mandy and Morag, who both were visiting family members, so was Blaise. Daphne and Tracey had come though, so did Cedric, but Susan and Hannah couldn't on account of being out on vacation with family.

The party was a bit of a surprise from Hermione, as Helen was told about it only in the morning when the Granger family had wished her a happy birthday. She had sent letters to all their friends and had coordinated with them to make this event possible.

The cake was brought in. It was a big chocolate bliss cake with strawberries, her favorable combination, with twelve cards around it. The candles were blown and the cake cut with a lot of fanfare and flourish by the group. Soon everyone was chatting around, having snacks and having all-round fun. Of course a party couldn't be called a party without dancing. When that was done with, presents were brought around and oohs and aahs accompanied them at opening. Soon the party wound down and guests started leaving one by one. Helen gave all the girls a hug and guys a kiss goodbye as finally only her and Grangers were left. She thanked them for arranging and allowing the party, which they waved off, saying it was their privilege and they were happy to do so.

Helen changed out of her dress and helped in the cleanup. Daniel and Emma had to leave to check out their clinic and to do some grocery shopping as well as to get some take out, so the girls decided to spend some time by the pool.

Both the elder Grangers were dentists and quite successful ones at that. They had a huge double-storey house in Greenwich which had 4 bedrooms in it, a wide backyard with a decent size swimming pool in it. Hermione was already lying in a deckchair in a modest yellow bikini reading a novel when Helen entered wearing a robe and carrying a towel. Spreading the towel on another deckchair, she untied her robe and stretched a bit. She knew Hermione's eyes were on her as she loosened her muscles while in her own red bikini which wasn't modest at all. Done with her stretching she dove in the pool and swam for half an hour.

She got out of the pool, lay down on the spread towel and dossed off with Hermione already snoozing with her book laid forgotten. She was woken up by Emma, who have changed into her own bikini and told that they would be having dinner out here itself. She woke up Hermione as well and they together set up the poolside for dinner which was pizza. Daniel joined them and they had a pleasant evening together.

Later that night Helen had changed into a comfortable pair of shorts and T-shirt and was reading an advanced book on enchanting, when there was as soft 'pop' in her room. Her wand was immediately trained on the intruder. It was a house-elf and a miserable looking one at that. It was wearing an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.

"Helen Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice Helen was sure would carry down the hall to Hermione. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, Ma'am ... Such an honor it is . . . ."

She knew that name. Malfoys had a house-elf named Dobby. Voldemort had never paid attention to house-elves but this was likely the same guy.

She asked him, "What do you want, Dobby? Why are you here?"

"Oh, yes, Ma'am," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you, ma'am ... it is difficult, ma'am ... Dobby wonders where to begin . . . ."

Helen thought he was harmless enough so she stopped pointing at him with her wand and decided to be kind to the poor creature, "Why done you sit done?"

To her astonishment, the elf burst into tears. "S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never ... never ever... "

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by anyone - like an equal-"

Ah, of course, Malfoys would have never treated their house-elves kindly. Which Helen thought was rather foolish, one should never treat help unkindly. They might be bound to you by the bond and internally you will loose their loyalty. Also, it never hurt to be kind to those under your domain.

She might be able to coax some extra info out from him though with kindness, a totally new experience for him.

"You can't have met many decent wizards. It is a kind and polite thing to do to offer your guests a seat."

Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

She immediately snatched him and set him up on her lap giving him a light hug and massaging his head. "I understand your family might have ordered you to punish yourself whenever you thought bad of them. It's Ok. We don't have to talk about it. Why don't you tell me why you are here?"

He gave a sob, thinking what a kind witch she was, to touch and comfort Dobby, then he answered "Dobby has come to protect Helen Potter, to warn her, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later... Helen Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."

"Hmm", Helen hummed and turned him in her lap sideways and rubbed his back. She looked into his eyes and sent a subtle probe in his mind. As the connection was made without him being the wiser, she asked, "And why must I not go back to Hogwarts?

He squeaked, "If Helen Potter goes back to Hogwarts, she will be in mortal danger. Helen Potter must stay where she is safe. She is too great, too good, to lose."

"Why?" she prodded already seeing the picture though the connection.

"There is a plot, Helen Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, ma'am. Helen Potter must not put herself in peril. She is too important, ma'am!"

And got she the plot. Malfoy was being an idiot. He was planning on smuggling Tom Riddle's diary to a member of Wealsey family to cause mayhem and sully the Weasley light reputation. He was going to give away the Dark Lord's most precious treasure, and for what, some kicks and giggles and to humiliate Arthur Wealsey because he was conducting a few troublesome raids. He must have thought the Dark Lord was really gone to even dare to do such a thing.

Oh, well, all the better for Helen. Of all the horcruxes of Voldemort, the dairy was the second most inaccessible for her after the cup. Now that it was going to be in Hogwarts this year, it would be a piece of cake for her to get it. She already knew the likely candidates who will have it. It would have to be their Hogwarts going children, so either the four youngest boys or their daughter who started Hogwarts this year.

Dobby squeaked again, startling Helen out of her thoughts "Helen Potter must promise to not go back to Hogwarts." he looked pleading at her with his wide watery eyes.

Helen placated him, "Alright, I will not go to Hogwarts this year. I must thank you for warning me about the dangers. You are the best house-elf I've ever met." And tightly hugged him.

Dobby cried again at the kindness being shown to him by the great Helen Potter. She indeed was the greatest witch in the world.

"Dobby has something to return to Helen Potter. Dobby has been blocking all the letters her friends have written to her. Dobby hoped ... if Helen Potter thought her friends had forgotten her ... Helen Potter might not want to go back to school." he said offering the letters while struggling to reach for the table lamp.

'So, that's what happened to the letters.' Helen thought as she held him in place to stop punishing himself. Her friends had told they had written to her but she had not received the letters. She hadn't given it much thought as that happened sometimes when you changed your home address. She had assumed she will receive them belatedly once she settled at the new place.

"That's alright, as long as you don't do it again." she said to him.

Dobby teared up again, "Helen Potter is humble and kind" he said reverently, "Dobby must be going now. He has work to do and punishments to be performed. Good night Madam Helen Potter." He gave her a deep bow and vanished with a 'pop'.

Helen thought back to the conversation with the house-elf. Of course, she had lied to him, no way she wasn't going to Hogwarts. Especially now when there was a perfect opportunity to get Tom Riddle's first horcrux in her hands. She perused through the letters she had received from her friends. Susan, Hannah, Morag, Mandy and Blaise all had written apologizing to not be able to attend her birthday party and head wished her their best on her birthday. Susan had invited her to stay at her place for a few days later in August which she planned to accept thinking of getting into the good graces of Amelia Bones.

XXXXX

Helen had returned to the Dursleys a few days later at their new house in Holland Park. It was an affluent locality with beautiful houses and gardens all around. There was a park a few block away from their house and Holland park, from which the locality got its name, was five minutes walk away.

The house itself was a townhouse with a backyard. It had three-storeys and a terrace. It didn't had a swimming pool as the plot size wasn't big enough for it, nonetheless, it was a beautiful building in Victorian style. The ground floor contained a formal drawing room, kitchen, a big dinning room and a porch that led to the lawn backyard. On the first floor was the master bedroom, an office and a family living room. The top floor had three bedrooms. Helen had taken one of these, with was towards the back of the house with a balcony that looked over the lawn and had a beautiful view of sunsets. It was smaller than the master bedroom, but in her opinion was better with an attached balcony and a walk-in closet, with attached bathroom. The bathroom had a bath and a shower and was done in a beautiful light pink marble.

The house did had a Jacuzzi near the back porch, with half walls to provide some privacy if one wanted to be a bit adventurous. The house had tall hedges as boundary with iron fencing in the front.

On arriving Helen had immediately set to work on the local society. She had quickly found out which neighbors were of any worth to her and had gotten into their good graces. She didn't bother much with children her age unless they were exceptional and stuck mostly to adults.

Petunia and her had scooped out the local designers and clothing shops, of which they were many which pleased Helen tastes. There was a lot more variety here without going too far from their home. She had also had Petunia inducted into the local social community, so that she could keep herself busy while keeping an eye out some influential or authoritative person of interest.

Earlier in the break, she had found, through her contacts, a man named Haruto Yamamoto who was a master of sword fighting arts of Japan. She had hired him to teach her the fighting styles which used sword in one hand and a ranged weapon in the off-hand. It was a difficult demand as Japanese samurai traditionally didn't use off-hand ranged weapon but he accepted and started training her. Helen had decided to use her left-hand as the sword hand, because while she was ambidextrous, her right hand was the dominant one and she wanted to use it for spellwork. For now, she would only learn about stances, movements and the correct handling of sword, because she didn't had a lot of time but next year she would start learning actual fighting. She would be carrying a dummy sword with her to Hogwarts to practice.

The sword skill wouldn't normally be useful in a magical fight but if the fight was in close quarter, a fast sharp sword will make quick work on the opponent because wizards didn't generally wear armor and were quite stationary as they casted spells.

There was also the matter of aura interruption in close quarters. Spells didn't work very well if a stronger wizard than you was within a few feet distance. That was because strong wizards always projected an aura around them. Actually all wizards did that, but an average wizards aura was so weak it could barely be detected. However, people like Voldemort and Dumbledore had such a strong aura presence that they used to act as a beckon in all out fights. So, if suppose, she somehow manages to be physically close to Voldemort in her current state, she wouldn't be able to cast even a tickling spell let alone anything lethal. In such scenarios, the sword would help, especially if 'someone' had enchanted it beforehand.

She had also found a Cantonese teacher because Su wasn't able to teach it to her completely. She could have pillaged her mind, but there was a risk of detection. She had met the teacher over a coffee/tea and had proceeded to copy the complete knowledge of the language from his mind. After politely declining to take classes, quoting scheduling issues, she had left with a complete knowledge of the language and an acute headache. This was the problem with learning using Legilimency. Massive download of knowledge over a short period of time would do that. The Legilimens also had to have decent occlumency skills or not much would be retained by the mind. Also, it couldn't be done on everyone. The target had to know both the languages and should be easily able to think in both languages. Usually only language teachers or language experts were like that. This was the reason not many wizards were doing this and they didn't have multi-lingual wizards running around.

Helen went straight to bed as unconscious state of sleep would help retain the knowledge better and it will help with the pain as well. As she waited for sleep to come she thought about all the languages she knew now. She already knew French and German from the memories of the dark lord. And now she had added Sanskrit and Cantonese to her repertoire. She wanted to add a few more but that wasn't a priority for her as what she already know would be enough. She of course already knew the Queen's English.

Next day her O-level exams started. She had gotten special permission to write these exams at 12 years old and was going to take maximum advantage by taking the maximum 14 subjects within a few days. Her subjects were: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Management, Computer Science, Fashion and Textiles, Sociology, Economics, Business studies, French, German, English, Mathematics D and Mathematics - additional. And she aced all the exams as it wasn't difficult for her what with her expertise in mind magic and immense memory retention capabilities.

Later when the results were declared there was an increased interest in the newest member of the locality, the beautiful and intelligent green eyed niece of the Dursleys, which Petunia handled expertly as Helen had already left.

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**Please leave a review.**

**A transition chapter, first part of the summer break. There will be one more chapter before 2nd year starts.**

**On the side note, I know thats not how O-levels work but... eh, this is Fanfiction.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers.**

* * *

Dumbledore sat in his office contemplating about the incidences of the last academic year.

He had known something was wrong with Quirrell the moment he had returned for his trip from Albania. Despite that he had allowed him the position of DADA. Though he had asked Severus to keep an eye on him.

There was also the issue of someone trying to steal the Philosopher's stone from the Flamels. While it wasn't anything new, ambitious wizards who didn't knew better were always trying to steal the artifact, but the latest attempt had Nicolas worried as the would be thief had nearly broken through all his defenses and the magical signature matched to that of Tom Riddle. So, Nicolas had turned to his last apprentice and Dumbledore had agreed to help protect the stone.

What he didn't tell the Flamels was how he was going to do it or the side benefits he was going to get from it. He wasn't going to make elixir of life or gold. What would he do with either? Long life was tiresome and he didn't need any material possessions. No, he was going to test the prophesied girl. He wanted to know about her character and her willingness fight for the light side.

Helen Potter was a bit of a surprise for him when she arrived at Hogwarts, even before. When he had left her at the Dursley's, he had thought he was putting her up for the fate similar to Azkaban. Vernon and Petunia were bigoted, self-centered, egoistic and a bit sadist. But Petunia was her only blood relative and for the girl's safety, he was willing to let her live miserably for ten years. He however, was not completely irresponsible, and had woven in a monitoring charm into the blood wards to constantly notify him of the girl's health. And there was only one time when the wards had alerted him about Helen being in danger, but that had been short lived and the girl was healthier then average for her age. Mrs Figg had also told him how the girl used to go for a swim daily and was quite energetic.

He was pleasantly surprised when Helen's reply of the Hogwarts letter came. It indicated that she already knew of the wizarding world. Which meant that Petunia had told her about it. Maybe the woman had gotten over her jealousy or maybe she wanted a girl child. Whatever the reason, the result was better then what he expected. So, instead he changed his plans accordingly after getting a detailed rundown about the girl from Mrs Figg.

According to her, the girl was gregarious, kind, hard-working and friendly, but her two most prominent traits were her beauty and her intelligence. She told him that he would have to protect the girl from suitors in future, as her looks and her social status was going to make her one of the most desirable brides in their world. He wasn't much worried about that for now, as it was a problem for future and the wards at her home and at Hogwarts would take care of most of the issues.

He was slightly concerned when he had learned about her intelligence though. That as well as her academic acumen. She was already in advanced level in her muggle academics, which meant a thirst for knowledge. That and her apparent intelligence, meant Ravenclaw. His plans were designed with her being in Griffindor.

So, He had asked the sorting hat to place her in Griffindor, if possible and had suggested to Molly Weasley that young Ronald and Helen could be great friends. He might have even suggested that they could be more in future.

But as it turned out, he had to adjust his plans when she had gotten sorted in Ravenclaw. And they had bore fruits in the end, not the one's he had expected, but still good.

Unlike most Ravenclaw, she was very social and had made friends in all the houses, with no prejudice against anyone. An advantage of not being sorted in Griffindor, he supposed. She had also been helpful to her follow year-mates in academic pursuits, which was good. It showed her kind and helpful nature. Her reflection in the mirror of Erised had further appeased him about her. He knew then that she would fight for the light side when the time came.

That night had also clarified something to him. He had wondered why she didn't had the scar from Voldemort's attack, where he suspected a fragment of his soul had latched on to her. But that night, after being close enough to her for the first time, he had not detected any sort of darkness or a separate presence from her forehead or from the rest of her, for that matter. It seems that the darkness he had felt that fateful Halloween night was either the last lingering presence of Voldemort or more likely just the aftereffect of the reflected killing curse. It was, after all, an abstract conclusion on his part that she might be carrying a part of Tom Riddle's soul, as no one had survived the killing curse before. He will have to make sure, but it lightened his heart to know that she might not have to be sacrificed to defeat Voldemort.

After the Quirrell's unfortunate demise, she had quickly grasped the situation about the Riddle issue. And the questions she had asked him, indicated that she had perceived far more than he had planned. She had inferred from one random statement from Quirrell that Voldemort had come for her specifically. She understood that he will come for her again and again. So, he presumed, she was going to do what any Ravenclaw would do. Prepare. He expected her to be much more focused this coming year and wouldn't be surprised if she advances past her year-mates by the end of the year.

Perhaps he could aid her without direct input. There was an interesting applicant for the defense position after all.

XXXXX

Severus sat brooding in his home in Spinnet's End, Cokeworth. It was a small town near Stoke-on-Trent in the midlands and there was nothing significant about it. Just the way he liked. He was nursing an american whiskey, Jack Daniel's, for over an hour now. He liked to drink very slowly and only one measure at a time, savoring the taste and flavor. He didn't want to get drunk. That wasn't his reason for drinking. Rather he drank for a piece of mind and to reminisce about the past, both old and new.

Of late his mind had been on his long lost love, Lily Evans. He had switched sides during the war after learning that she was being targeted by the dark lord himself. He had realized that it was because of him delivering the details of prophecy he had heard over in Hog's Head that the dark lord had started targeting her. He had long wished that he hadn't heard that cursed prophecy. Because it was for that reason his love had died.

He had begged the dark lord to spare her. The dark lord pacified him with false promises, but he had realized the falsity. So, he had gone to Dumbledore on his knees to save Lily. The headmaster had asked him to switch sides and become his spy, before accepting his request. He had gladly done so, hoping that she might be saved.

But it was all for naught, as the dark lord had still killed her. All that was left of her was her child. Her child with James Potter. The child who had somehow destroyed the dark lord. The child he had hated since the day she was born.

Past September, when he had first laid his eyes on her, he had wondered whether the fate was mocking him. Helen Potter was a near copy of Lily Potter, but somehow even more beautiful than her mother. Her hair were darker, there was a Potter influence in her high cheekbones and jaw, but the rest was all Lily, including the eyes. Especially the eyes, he corrected himself. When those eyes had looked at him in the first potions class, he had been reminded of the way Lily would look, whenever she found something interesting or challenging.

Over the course the year, the girl had managed to thaw his cold exterior and dissolve his hatred. She was so similar to Lily that sometimes he forgot where or when he was. She had the same drive, genius level intelligence and that mischievous look in her eyes. She was also quite similar in nature being kind and helpful to all.

But she was different too, enough so that he could distinguish the differences between them. Lily was a bit of an introvert, while Helen was at home among a lot of friends. Lily was a bit brash and quick to anger, while her daughter was calculating and calm. Still, even with all the differences, he had started to like her and even care about her. Something which was an align matter for him as he didn't care about anything apart from his revenge for Lily. Unnervingly, he also had had some inappropriate thoughts about the girl too, especially when she would bite her lip while concentrating on something.

Shaking his head, he gulped down his drink and refilled his glass, thinking maybe he should get drunk for a change.

XXXXX

This year she would not remain as passive as she was the last, Helen thought to herself.

Her reasoning for the passiveness last year was that she had just came to the wizarding world as a muggle-raised girl. She wasn't expected to know much, if anything, about the world and its intricacies. However, for about nine months, she was an inquisitive Ravenclaw, surrounded by half-blood and pureblood children, with a lot of them from noble houses. She was bound to learn a bit about the workings of governing bodies like the Ministry and the Wizengamot as well as her status in the wizarding world. For example, her importance as heiress of the noble and ancient house of Potter, her future role in the Wizengamot, etc. She would also learn about political factions, important figures in their society as well as etiquette to be followed by the members of noble houses etc. Of course, she already knew all these things but now she had a cover.

For the same reasons last year she couldn't have known much about magic but now it was justifiable for her to know things. In addition to that, she now 'officially' knew of Voldemort's continued existence and that he was targeting her. So, if she knew something extra or advanced it could be explained off as a being prepared for the future. She also planned to press Snape to aid the daughter of his lost love become a better fighter as he was a competent duelist and was an expert in dark arts. Then she could justify knowing dark magic after Snape had introduced her to it.

Right now she was packing her stuff as she was going to stay the Bones Manor for the last week and a half of the holidays. Susan had invited her and Hannah to stay for ten whole days. Other girls would be joining them as well from time to time. Petunia was going to drop her at the Leaky Cauldron from where she would floo to the manor. She had opted for this method of travel because she didn't want Madam Bones to come pick her up and find out about the new residence. She didn't want anyone to know about her change in address. Her Hogwarts letter had arrived earlier at the Surrey address, though Dobby had blocked in that time.

They got to the pub without a hitch and Helen used the public floo using the password that Susan had provided in her letter to appear at the Bones' Manor. She appeared into what appeared to be the foyer of the manor and was immediately greeted by Susan formally "Welcome to our home, Heiress Potter" followed by an excited squeal and a hug, "Oh! we are going to have so much fun together."

She proceeded to give her a home tour and showed her to the room she would be staying for the next ten days, which was right next to her own room. Madam Bones wasn't present yet and would arrive in the evening. Hannah was going to arrive at today as well and would stay for a better part of the week. After putting her trunk in the room, Helen and Susan went to the living room to catch up and wait for their friend to arrive. Hannah arrived ten minutes later and they enjoyed their time together gossiping till lunch. After lunch Hannah wanted to rest for a while so she went for a nap, Susan decided to join her which left Helen time to kill. She decided to read one of the Parselmagic tomes Padma her sent to her.

Before the end of the term, Helen had revealed to Padma her Parseltongue ability. Padma was surprised and a bit awed as the ability was extremely rare and unlike the western world, it was revered in India. Helen had then asked her to check if her family had any books on the serpent speech and magic associated with it. Padma had come through and had sent her a few tomes on the subject which she found in their family library.

There wasn't much 'wand-waving' in parselmagic, unless one counts articulating the normal spells in parseltongue, which while made them harder to counter, it also made them loose some of their potency. No, the real parselmagic was more in the ways of potions, runes, rituals and alchemy. Parsel potions were mostly, as one would have guessed, poisons and their cures. The rituals weren't as useful for Helen, as she had done the equivalent of most of them from various other cultures. There was one she found that interested her and she planned on doing it as soon as she went back to Hogwarts.

She read for a couple of hours, then went to wake up her friends. When she reached there, they were already waking up, refreshed from the nap and decided to have some sun and fun by the pool. They decided to change and meet at the pool. Helen went back to her room and donned a bright yellow bowknot bandeau thong bikini. She put a bathrobe over it and went outside to the pool. The girls were already there wearing very modest one piece swimsuits. As soon as she took off her robe, their attention was on her, or rather her risque bikini. Smirking at their nonplussed reaction she started spreading a towel on a deckchair.

The recovered from their shock and asked together, "What is that?", "Where can I get one?"

She answered Susan first, "This is a bikini, a very fashionable one at that. Bikinis are the modern swimwear of muggle girls and women. This one is a variation of bandeau type of bikinis which doesn't have straps to support the top but rely on the tightness to stay in place. These look very nice but are not recommended to swim in as the top tend to come off due to excessive movements. Since I was only planning to get some sun, I decided to wear this one."

She started applying some sun block and answered Hannah's question, "You can find them at any muggle store that sells bikinis. These are not uncommon. I'll take you there when we go shopping in the muggle world."

"But they cover less than underwear! Is that was muggle women really were in public?" Susan asked astounded.

"Not everywhere, just on beaches or by pools. There are some beaches around the world where clothing is completely optional and, in fact, frowned upon. By the way, we are also going to do some underwear shopping if you think this covers less than underwear. You should see mine." After dropping that bombshell, Helen laid down to get some Vitamin-D.

The girls eventually recovered and decided to have some fun, but were still curious based on the occasional glances being thrown at her. Helen was lying on her front when Madam Bones arrived from work. She had guessed their location correctly and had arrived to greet her guests directly. The girls got out of the pool to greet her and Helen also got up.

"Welcome to our home, Heiress Potter" she only raised a single eyebrow at her attire and continued, "and welcome back, Hannah."

Helen gave her a curtsy and replied, "Thank you Madam Bones for letting me stay at your lovely home. I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay here. Please call me Helen."

Amelia gave her a kind smile and replied, "You may call me Amelia, then."

After chatting for a few minutes she left to change out of her office clothes and returned wearing a robe. After spreading a towel on a deckchair next to Helen's, she took off her robe, causing Susan and Hannah to drop their jaws. She was wearing a cutout black monokini that looked as modern as they come. Ignoring the girls, she started chatting with Helen, inquiring about her past years, who was she living with, her safety and other general matters.

Soon, it was dinner time and they all went inside after a house-elf announced that dinner is ready. They enjoyed a healthy dinner, during which the girls probed Amelia for her outfit, to which she replied that she always had modern clothes but rarely wore them due to her job of responsibility and a public figure. She told them that she did wear bikinis and such whenever Susan was out causing the said girl to huff and determined to get some of her own now. Amelia left the girls alone after that and they decided to plan out the muggle outing for the rest of the evening.

XXXXX

The said outing was 2 days later. Amelia had arranged a car with expanded insides and a auror trainee as chaperone and driver. Hermione was coming with her mom, who drove her own Range Rover and would act as a guide for the all girl group. The boys had all bailed out after hearing the word 'shopping' and had replied to meet them in Diagon Alley a few days later for unavoidable Hogwarts shopping.

They were all meeting outside Leaky Cauldron and would be driving around from there. Their Auror chaperone was also a young girl named 'Tonks, just Tonks' and was dressed muggle in a high waist black jeans and a black cropped tank top with laced black boots. She was also a metamorphmagus and currently had short spiked black hair and purple eyes. The girl group consisted of Susan, Hannah, Daphne, Tracey, Padma, Mandy, Lisa, Su, Hermione and Helen.

Helen had asked and helped all girls to pick up outfits to not stand out in the muggle world. Mostly were in the dresses that Helen had gifted them as they didn't had much options, however, Susan, Hannah, Hermione and Helen were dressed differently to add some variations. Susan was wearing a borrowed dark blue skinny jeans and cream beige wrap jacket with white top, both belonging to Helen. Hannah was in a collared shirt which was tucked inside a knee length navy blue pleated skirt and black heels, all borrowed from Helen. Helen had worn black denim cut off shorts with white singlet and a short blue checked open shirt on top with blue sneakers. Hermione wore a stylish light blue denim shirt dress with a brown belt and soft blue slip-on shoes.

The girls had converted their galleons into pounds and were piling up into the two cars while Emma, Tonks, Helen and Hermione planned their day out. They decided to leave Harrods for the end because once they got there, they wouldn't be out till the evening.

They first took the girls for some jeans shopping as every girl should have multiple options in jeans to wear. They went to a Levi's outlet and everyone got a few pair of jeans and denim shorts in various colors. Next Helen took them to a boutique which catered dresses of all kinds for all occasions. They spent about an hour and half here as the collection was wonderful and even Emma bought a couple of dresses. Next they proceeded to Harrods.

Before taking the group to shops though, Emma guided them over to the food court. Here they treated the pureblood and magical raised girls to the delicious fast food, though they did warn them to not eat too much of it as it wasn't very healthy. After they had munched on fatty food, they finally entered the clothing section.

They emerged out of it four hours later with all the girls loaded with multiple packages in their hands and their purses empty. They were all a bit tired and satisfied with their haul. Helen, Hermione and Emma had guided them through the broad spectrum of varieties in every article of clothing, which otherwise would have left the girls mind-boggled and unable to select. They had went through tops of all kinds, skirts ranging from micro-minis to full lengths, hundreds of types of dresses, nightwear, various accessories, make-up, footwear etc. As promised Helen had taken them to select swimwear and all had chosen a few. Padma and Daphne were most shy about it but still had picked up a couple of bikinis. The lingerie section had most of them blush causing Helen, Emma and Tonks to smirk and laugh at their expressions. Still, after overcoming their embarrassment, they all had selected something which was a bit more revealing than what they normally had. In the end Tracey and Hannah actually had to borrow a bit from the others to buy all that they had selected and promised to return the money on the train.

Afterwards, they all relaxed over coffee in a popular coffee shop nearby, excitedly discussing and gushing over varieties and options in muggle fashion. Once done, they all loaded back in the cars and went to the Leaky Cauldron. Daphne and Tracey were going to join them at Bones manor for a couple of days so they joined in the internally expanded car after the rest had flooed to their home and Hermione and Emma had driven back to their home.

XXXXX

Helen had asked for permission to access the Bones' library and Amelia had allowed her to free access except one section at the back of the library, which she wouldn't be able to touch anyways. That section contained dark arts books which Amelia didn't want the girls to even touch, let alone read.

Currently, Helen was reading a mind arts book, specifically a book on Occlumency. While she already knew the art, it never hurt to read more about it. Books on mind art were very rare and she wanted to see if there was something she could find to improve her understanding of the art.

Her main reason for reading this book however, was subterfuge. She wanted an attestation for her knowing Occlumency. Up till now, she had been very careful of projecting false thoughts over the surface of her mind shields, in case one of the many legilimens in Hogwarts ever gave her mind a glance or light probe. Quirrell, Snape and Dumbledore, all had sent a light probe towards her during the last year at least once. Thought to be fair, Snape had stopped doing so after Halloween.

Presently, she was waiting for Amelia to come from work and find her reading this specific book. That is why she was reading in the living room instead of the library itself. The said woman arrived ten minutes later and greeted her as she sat in an armchair in front of her. Helen had greeted her back distractedly and had gone back to the book, while a house-elf provided refreshments.

Amelia then noticed the text she was reading and commented on it, "That is an interesting book for a young lady to read."

Helen looked up from the book and answered "It is a very interesting topic. I had never heard there was such a thing like mind magic."

Amelia replied "It is a obscure branch of magic. And that there in your hands is one of the very few books available on the subject. Mind magic is generally taught directly, from person to person and that too not openly, as the subject matter, while not completely forbidden, is not exactly advertised."

"Oh." Helen replied not knowing what else to say.

"Tell me, how far have you gotten into that book?" Amelia asked with a thoughtful expression.

"I've gone through the complete introduction part which briefly explained the different aspects of mind magic. I now know what Occlumency, Legilimency and Obliviation are. I'm currently reading the steps to form mental shields to protect the mind from a Legilimens entering into it. I've to admit, I was a bit scared to know that anyone could read my mind at any time."

Amelia replied assuredly, "That is very unlikely to happen." Helen suppressed a scoff.

Amelia continued without noticing Helen's expression, "There are very few Legilimens in the world as it is an even more difficult subject than Occlumency. Additionally, unlike Occlumency, Legilimency and Obliviation are illegal to be taught without prior approval from the ministry."

After pausing for a thought, she continued "Tell you what, I'll let you read the Occlumency part of that book as it is something I feel you should learn, being the 'girl-who-lived' and the only Heiress of an Ancient and Noble house."

Taking the book she waved her wand over it and handed it back, "Now you can safely read the text without venturing into restricted territories. Try to memorize it over the next week because while I'm allowing you access to that book, I'll not let that book out of this house or let you copy it or make notes from it."

"Seems reasonable, given the contents of this book." Helen replied, agreeing with her.

Amelia gave her a small smile and said, "Good that you understand. Now, if you have any difficulties, you can ask me about them."

"Alright."

"It usually takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to get decent shields up, depending on one's aptitude for this magic and their mental discipline. So, on a later date, if you want me to check upon your progress, I'll be happy to do so."

"Thank you" Helen gratefully replied, thinking to herself that it certainly wouldn't be needed.

XXXXX

Helen stepped out of the floo in Leaky Cauldron and waited with Susan for rest of their party to arrive which was Daphne, Tracey, Hannah and Amelia. She saw that the rest of her friends who were coming today were already here. As Amelia stepped through they went to greet the rest of the group. They were Micheal, Terry, Blaise and Anthony with Anthony's mother as well as Daphne's and Tracey's mothers, who would be taking their daughters with them after the shopping.

They decided to break in 2 groups with Mrs Goldstein taking the boys to Apothecary, Eeylops Owl Emporium and Quality Quidditch Supplies while the girls got their uniforms. Afterwards they will exchange positions and later all meet at the Flourish and Blotts to buy the books. There was also a book signing by a famous celebrity, Gilderoy Lockhart, who incidentally was also the author of all of their DADA books. It was also the reason all the ladies had come to shop with their children, as apparently Lockhart was also a heartthrob. Helen was also interested to meet the man as according to Hannah and Susan, he had been all over the world fighting various dark creatures and wizards.

The group parted and the girls with Amelia, Mrs Greengrass and Mrs Davis went to Madam Malkin's. The rest of the girls were very eager to shop here this time, as they planned to follow Helen's example and get some modified and prettier uniforms. They were finished an hour later and started to exit the shop. The boys had already completed their rest of the shopping and were already waiting inside the shop for the last ten minutes.

Knowing the boys wouldn't take as long to get their uniforms, they went through the rest of shopping hurriedly and finally all gathered together outside the bookstore. There was already a crowd forming inside and they pushed through to start the last of their shopping and to get a glimpse of the famous personality present inside.

They bought all the required books and then Susan dragged her to the line for getting the book signed by Lockhart. He slowly came into view and Helen understood the reason for all the swooning and sighing going on around her. He was a very handsome man with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes on beautiful chiseled face with tall and fit body. He certainly looked strong with his arms and chest trying to tear open his modern looking clothes. He was dressed in a navy blue robe designed like a long coat and a white buttoned shirt under it. His clothes accentuated the color of his eyes.

Helen finally reached him and presented one of his books 'Year with the Yeti'. He looked at her with bright eyes and asked with a charming smile, "To whom may I address it?"

Helen replied with her own cute smile, "Helen Potter."

He started writing but than did a double take and stared at her. Suddenly, he leapt out of his chair, grabbed her around her waist and pulled her towards the front. The crowd burst into an applause and the photographer started taking pictures. Helen presented a gentle smile on her face as she looked into the camera while her friends clapped and cheered along the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, as his hand remained low on her waist "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!"

"When young and fair Helen stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, she only wanted to buy my autobiography -which I shall be happy to present her now, free of charge-" The crowd applauded again. "She had no idea," Lockhart continued, as his hand thankfully moved to the middle of her back, "that she would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. She and her schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Lockhart then took her hand and kissed her knuckles and after giving her another brilliant smile left her to shake hands with the crowd. She went back to her group to find the girls looking very excited about having a real dark wizard hunter teaching them DADA this year. The boys remained composed though their eyes gave away their excitement.

After collecting the free autobiography, Helen and the rest started moving towards the exit. There was a ruckus near the doors though as two men were separated from each other after trading blows. Helen was still quite far from them, but even at this distance their hair gave them away, Malfoy and Weasley. They threw last few remarks and Malfoy left the shop with his son in tow.

Amelia reached the doors then and sternly addressed Weasley, "Seriously, Arthur, muggle fighting now, at a public place, that too in front of your children? Do you want me to arrest you?"

Weasley looked sheepish and said "Sorry, Amelia. Its just Malfoy rubs me wrong and I lost my temper. It will not happen again."

"See to it that it wouldn't." Amelia said and directed her group out.

During the short conversation, Helen tried to figure out how and to which of children had Malfoy slipped the dairy, because of course that was what the fight was all about. He wanted a distraction to plant the goods. She guessed that it could be any of the four youngest as they were standing closest to the scuffle. She'll have to find it out in Hogwarts.

XXXXX

Over the last week and a half Helen had made good relations with Amelia. They would have discussions in the evening after Amelia returned from work over many issues and topics. While sitting by the pool, they would discuss about the current debates in Wizengamot (duties of imported potions and tax on exported ingredients). Amelia told her about house Potter and their business. The family had held patents for Skele-Gro and Pepperup potion for several centuries before releasing them. Her grandfather had created the company which made Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, a very popular beauty product which was a favorite of witches, even Helen had used it on occasion, and had sold it at vast profit. She also talked about the manor, which she knew was somewhere to in the western parts on the country, close to Bristol, but didn't know where exactly. She did describe how it looked having visited the place in her youth.

All in all, Helen thought she might have made her first adult Ally and was happy that the said ally was already of good repute and influence. She will make it much easier to get to the prophecy later.

* * *

**So, I wanted to make a statement here concerning a few characters, but have decided to not do so. All I'll say is that this story is_ only somewhat_ canon compliant.**

**Please Review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Check first chapter for disclaimers.**

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She stood there, shaking slightly, just outside the door. She knew her quarry was inside as the other girl had gone in for a shower after her swim. She had looked incredibly enticing in her sporty blue cut out monokini. That was partially the reason for her current state of arousal. When she had stepped out of the pool, the water running down her perfect body had caused her clitoris to tingle. She had wanted to lick the water off her body then.

The other part was her long term desire for the girl. She thought the red head was extremely beautiful and was attracted to her from the start. Add to that that she was kind and helpful but with an authoritative streak, which left her burning with desire to be with her and submit to all her whims and commands.

She had been standing there for over five minutes when she heard a door open and close inside and soft feet walking. Guess she was done with her shower. She waited a few more minutes to give the other girl time to get dressed but more importantly to gather courage herself to admit her attraction for the girl. Before she could loose her nerve she raised her hand to knock on the door.

But before she could do so, Helen's voice called from inside, "You can come in."

She stood there for a moment, shocked, wondering how did she know, but then recovered and opened the door, stepping inside.

"Close the door behind you" Helen said. She did and turned around to look at the source of the voice.

Helen was sitting on the edge of the bed with a towel wrapped around her under her arms that left her long legs almost completely exposed and was using her wand to dry her long wavy dark red hair. Her eyes were bright and vibrant and were fixed on her face with a curious look on her face.

She flustered at the alluring sight and couldn't take her eyes off the ravishing body. She stood there speechless as it was often the case whenever she saw the pretty girl.

"Well, how can I help you?" Helen asked her, with a raised eyebrow.

She blushed realizing she had been staring at her shapely legs and was caught doing so. She lowered her eyes to her feet and mumbled, "Sorry"

"I don't mind", came a reply.

"You don't?" she asked surprised and looked up.

Helen was standing now with her wavy hair dry and her wand on the bed. She started walking slowly towards her and as she reached her she replied, "Not if it's you."

Helen brought her hand to her face, stroking the corner of her jaw with her impossibly soft thumb and continued softly, "I like it that you can't take yours eyes off me."

She blushed further at the contact and at the statement which was completely true and Helen knew it.

Helen leaned in and lightly kissed her on her cheek close to her mouth and pulled back.

She wanted her to do more then that but didn't had the courage to say so. It must have showed on her face though as Helen gave her a soft smile and leaned in again keeping her in position with the hand on her cheek.

She closed her eyes as Helen's lips touched hers delicately. She lost herself in the swirl of the strange, new softness of her lips. She smelled wonderful as always with a mixture of roses, sandalwood and something exotically spicy which she could never place. Her lips were soft and moist and tasted sweet like chocolate covered strawberries.

Helen closed the gap between their bodies and her other hand went behind her back with her fingers trailing down the spine unraveling the nerves she felt.

Feeling slightly brave she raised her own hands and stroked Helen's bare shoulders. When she didn't reject her and instead pressed closer so that their breasts were mashed together, she raised one of her hand to caress her beautiful face and tangle her fingers in those long dark hairs.

After a few moments of sensual kissing, she felt Helen's tongue seeking entry in her mouth which she gladly allowed. She opened her mouth and received the tongue with her own. The heat rose in her cheeks as her tongue touched the other girls' tongue, quick and electric and delicious, then firmer, more determined, more curious about the heat that lay within, seeking to chase down that elusive liquid lightning that reached through her.

Helen's hands were wandering over her back causing tingles all over and were causing her own to become bolder and bolder as they touched and felt the exposed skin of the other girl. She knew she wanted more but was timid and couldn't do more.

Helen solved her problem as she brought her hand from her back to her side and low. Her fingers slipped between her T-shirt and skirt and touched the skin on her side causing a current to flow all over her body. They didn't stop there as they again moved to her back but this time under her T-shirt, stroking her skin directly causing her to moan into Helen's mouth.

Helen then removed her lips from hers, leaving her wanting more. But those moist lips didn't stop and went to her neck which Helen exposed completely using her hand in her hair.

She moaned and sighed as Helen worked on the pulse causing her clitoris to throb and her panties to dampen. As she kissed her neck, her hand in her hair moved down to caress the other side of the neck and slipped further south to gently cup one of her small breast over her top and bra. Helen started fondling her breast slowly over her clothes causing her to loose her mind and all her inhibitions.

Her other hand came to the hem of her top and raised it slightly, waiting of her to object. Objection was the last thing on her mind and she used her own hand, placing it over Helen's and raised it dragging the top along. Helen used both her hands to completely remove the T-shirt, stepped back and looked at her with burning eyes making her flush.

As she held her eyes she untucked the towel and let it drop exposing her breasts and small silk panties, which were the only article of clothing on her body. Her breasts were larger then her own and were round and perky. Her pink nipples were erect, displaying her own aroused state.

Helen took one of her hands and pulled it up to her breasts, giving her permission to touch the beautiful globes. She unconsciously fondled the smooth object causing Helen to sigh in pleasure. Encouraged she flicked the nipple with her fingers and earned a moan for her efforts.

She took one of Helen's hand and placed it over her own breast while her other continued exploring her new best thing in the world. Helen went ahead and put her other hand on her other breast and started playing with both her breasts. After few moments she moved one her hand to her back to the bra hook and looked at her.

She nodded and her bra was soon on the floor leaving her breasts out in open, which Helen took complete advantage of and started playing with them eagerly.

After exploring for a while, Helen pulled the other girl's head towards her right breast, encouraging her to take it in her mouth. She greedily did so and sucked on the nipple, teasing it with the tip of her tongue. Helen moaned and ran her fingers up into the thick curls of her hair, pulling her gently by the base of her skull further into her breasts, encouraging her to continue.

Helen's other hand slinked under the edge of her skirt, touching the bare skin of her thigh; the aftershock of the resulting shiver spilled out from her tongue into the nipple which furthered Helen's arousal.

Helen's nimble fingers teased between her leg and the hem of her skirt until they could smell the heat of her shadows. Slowly, gently, they moved in and up towards the swollen silk of her knickers. She poured her gasp down Helen's cleavage as the taller girl traced the line of her slit with torturous care, and kissed down the valley between her breasts.

Then Helen removed her hand and gently pushed her head back. She was suddenly afraid that she had done something wrong as the emerald eyed girl turned around and moved away. Helen picked up her wand, turned around and looked at her.

She opened her mouth to apologize for whatever she had done wrong and to beg her to take her back. But before she could say a work, Helen pointed her wand at the door and cast a couple of spells at it. She was confused at what was happening as Helen started to move towards her again.

She looked at the taller girl hopefully and her hope was rewarded as Helen kissed her hard and deep and said, "I didn't want us to be disturbed."

Helen then started pulling her towards the bed and she followed reassured and optimistic. She was gently pushed into the bed and her skirt was removed, leaving her only in her panties.

Helen then came over and gently but insistently pressed her shoulders into the bed and covered her body with her own leaving no space between them. She then mashed their lips together and they started a heated make-out while their hands fondled their bodies. Helen's hand were all over her body, squeezing here, tucking there while her lips and tongue set her own mouth on fire. A fire which is wanted to spread all over her body.

And Helen seemed to have read her mind, as her mouth left her lips and started a downward decent, first reaching her neck leaving a hickie, lightly biting at her collarbone and then licking at the valley between her small breasts. From there she turned trajectory and and soon had her left nipple into the warmth of her mouth, with her hot tongue flicking at the tip.

She cried out as a tiny orgasm hit her when Helen sucked on her left nipple while pinching her right with her fingers. Helen then moved further down and removed her last garment completely exposing her to the emerald eyes. Helen knelt up and erotically removed her own panties all the while looked at her sensually with heated glowing eyes.

Helen touched her thighs and started sliding her figures upwards towards her core causing her to moan and whimper in pleasure. She touched her lower lips and then dipped her middle figure between her folds. She was sure that Helen was met with a gush of approval. Helen slid her thumb up her clit and traced mindful little circles around and around. The build was almost imperceptible, but Helen gradually added more pressure to her stroke.

Feeling her harden and open into her, Helen increased the quivering speed of her touch. She leaned forward and started kissing her collarbone. The cords of her neck were strained, presumably to quell the sounds trying to escape. One of her hands gripped Helen's hair while the other grasped futilely at the headboard. She was so very close to an explosive orgasm.

Helen lifted her head and whispered in her ear huskily, "Come for me, pet."

She reached the edge on hearing the endearment and heard her calling her name, "Come for me, Hermione."

She came with a load moan and cry as shocks ran throughout her body. She forgot about everything for a moment as her physical and mental aspects merged, in an extremely good way. She imagined she must have been glowing with the way she felt.

As she came back down from her pinnacle of bliss, she again heard her name being called, strangely from distance.

"Hermione"

She ignored it she enjoyed the pleasure running it final course through her body. But the voice came again louder this time, "Hermione!"

Helen's voice seemed to have changed and she had moved some distance away. The voice came once again this time with a knocking sound, "Hermione!"

She suddenly woke up. She was in her bed in her home. The covers were thrown away and her panties and night dress was completely wet with her arousal.

It was a wet-dream, she quickly realized. About Helen.

And she must have moaned loud enough for her mother to come knocking at her door.

Thinking quickly, she replied, "Just knocked my toe into the bed post. It's alright."

"You sure? It sounded painful." her mother asked.

"No its alright. It'll pass. I'll be down soon."

"Ok. If you say so. Get ready quickly and I'll drop you at King's cross. You don't want to miss the train."

"Yes, mom."

She heard her mother go downstairs and dropped back into bed, thinking. She knew she was attracted to Helen. Seeing her naked when she was here hadn't helped. Instead it had solidified and confirmed her desire. Now the question was what to do with it.

Her dream had made it clear what she wanted to happen. But whether Helen swing that way was the question. Also if she did, would she like her? Did she found her attractive? She knew she was looking better these days with her straighter hair and her body starting to develop womanly curves, though she was no way near Helen. The taller girl could be a runway model with the way she looked. But would Helen like her?

She had teased her on her birthday and had kissed her several times on her cheek. But she kissed everyone she liked. And Hermione had seen how she had kissed Cedric and how she would look at Blaise sometimes. But she had seen the same looks directed at her as well. Maybe she was bisexual, she hoped. Hermione knew she was mostly into girls for some time now, and seeing Helen naked had cemented that fact. She had found only a few boys attractive, so she guessed she could try with a boy if she had too, but she wanted to be with Helen.

She knew she was probably a submissive and that she liked authoritative figures. And Helen had shown that she could be one when they went to the forbidden corridor last year. Even the rest of Ravenclaw seemed to follow her as she was their unofficial leader, with Padma actually swearing an actual magical oath to her.

She decided to see how the year will pan out and if an opportunity arrives, she will confess about her feelings to Helen and let the chips fall as they may.

XXXXX

Susan had packed her trunk last night with her uniform on top, apart from the clothes she was going to wear today.

Going to the muggle world had been a revelation for her and the ensuing shopping spree had left her excited and giddy, not that she let it show, unlike Hannah and Tracey. She had also understood why some muggleborn looked down at the magical world and decided to go back to the muggle world after Hogwarts. To them magical would seem stagnant.

Putting her tangential thoughts aside, she dressed up in a dark blue skin tight jeans and a short sleeved T-shirts, both of which she had bought in London. Underneath she was wearing revealing but comfortable underwear, also bought in the muggle world.

As she put on the final touches, she thought of the girl who was staying with her. Helen was a very considerate person who would help out a person in need. She was smart and intelligent but also kind and benevolent. She really could have been a Hufflepuff. She was brave too, to face a professor alone to protect the school. And that she came out relatively unharmed while the professor died showed that she was powerful as well. Add to that the fact that she would be Lady Potter in six years and her fame as the Girl-Who-Lived, she would be an extremely influential and important person of the wizarding world.

Susan planned to be with her as her friend and ally. She would convince her aunt to ally their houses, not that it would be difficult as she already liked Helen. They together with a few more of the noble houses could become a power block that could shape the future of their world for the better. She knew a certain future lord of a noble house who was interested in having 'very' close ties with Helen Potter. Cedric was obviously entranced with Helen and they would certainly make a beautiful couple, she thought.

Finished with her makeup, she got up and went out to the dinning room to have a quick breakfast before leaving for King's cross. They were going via muggle entrance as Daphne and Tracey would be coming that way too due to their parents having some business in the muggle world, while Hermione would obviously use the entrance as well. Hannah had gone back yesterday and would join them on train along with the rest of the gang.

XXXXX

Helen dressed up in a black high waist asymmetrical skirt and a white blouse with black net pantyhose and black wedged heels. She had both her wands on her person and her trunk was shrunk to a matchbox size, and was inside her robe pocket, which she was carrying in her left arm.

She had plans she wanted to enact and implement this year. She now had a small base to operate with the Ravenclaws under her control along with several members of other houses. She planned to come out of her shell a bit this year and not remain innocent as she wouldn't be able to hold the act all the time.

She was also excited about this year as a lot of favorable things would be happening for her. One of the most inaccessible Horcrux of the dark lord would be within her reach and a world famous explorer and warrior would be teaching them DADA. She hoped to learn something useful from him as his books were brilliant despite their stupid titles and being a bit narcissistic.

She went downstairs to find both Amelia and Susan already waiting for her to arrive. Bidding them a 'Good Morning' she ate an apple for breakfast and they together set out for King's cross. They reached the station at 10:30 and met with Greengrass', Davis', and Granger's on platform 9 and 10. The other parents left for their work and Amelia took the girls to platform 9 & 3/4 without any hitch. They said their goodbyes and boarded the train, finding any empty compartment near the middle of the train.

Soon they were joined by Micheal, Anthony and Terry. Padma and Hannah came in as well to fill up the compartment. Terry sat next to window with Helen, Micheal and Anthony filling the one side and Hermione had taken the other window seat with Padma, Susan and Hannah taking the rest of the space. As the train left the station, they chatted and caught up with each other's lives. Soon they feel into a comfort zone with Terry, Helen and Hermione reading their books while rest of the group chatted together.

During the ride they had visits from their other friends who had taken nearby compartments. Helen's upper year friends also visited around greeting her and her friends briefly. Cedric visited for a brief while, he tried chatting with everyone but ended up focusing mostly on Helen, for which she ended up being teased by the rest of the girls while the boys were a bit miffed, and so was Hermione, but she hid it well. The Weasley twins also dropped by with their friend Lee Jordan to say 'Hello' but left quickly to cause mayhem somewhere else.

The rest of the trip was uneventful apart from a visit by Malfoy and his goons. He had grown confident over the summer and tried to be suave inviting Helen to join him and his friends for the ride. Helen had turned down his offer delicately, not wanting him to resent her but also not interested in his pureblooded snobby company. She did not want him to dislike her as he might be useful later on as he was certainly going to be a death eater in future. She could have her own pet death eater just like Snape was Dumbledore's. At least that's what it looked like. She wasn't 100% sure about that.

Half an hour before reaching Hogwarts the boys were chased out of the compartment so that the girls could change into their uniforms. As the train stopped in the Hogsmeade station, they all got out to find nice clear skies and the tall figure of Hagrid calling the first years.

After waving a hi at him, they proceeded towards the carriages which most students thought were autonomous. In reality though they were pulled by Thestrals, who could only be seen by those who had witnessed death. Helen could obviously see them having witnessed Quirrell's demise last year. As her group started to marvel at the enchantments on horse-less carriages, she explained to them the reality.

"They are not horseless. They have Thestrals pulling them on. Thestrals are invisible to all but those who have witnessed death." She explained.

Hermione asked hesitantly, "Um, Can you see them?"

"Yes." She replied simply and climbed into the nearest one. The rest of them joined her and once the carriage was full, the Thestral started moving without any prompt. During the trip she told the group what she knew about the winged horses, describing their appearance and telling them about their acute sense of direction.

Soon they reached Hogwarts proper and the group broke up to go to their respective house tables. Helen and the rest of the second years sat down together near the end of the table leaving space for the new first years to join them. The rest of the Ravenclaw house greeted them and took their seats as they all waited for the first years to arrive. Helen used this time to observe the hall and its occupants.

She had always liked the ceiling enchantments of the great hall. Her enchanting skills weren't enough to understand the complexities of such masterful work but she was determined to reach such a level and wanted to replicate the feet somebody in her own home. She would have to find a home first though or repair Potter manor.

She looked over at the staff table to check out all the new staff members. It seems Lockhart was the only new addition as she could not see anyone else new. Lockhart was already seated and was chatting up with the two other youngest professors Aurora Sinistra and Bathsheda Babbling, professors of Astronomy and Ancient Runes respectively.

He seemed his usual charming self in the company of two beautiful young women, who were already making eyes at him. So were a lot of girls from the student body. And he certainly was very pleasing to look at with his handsome chiseled face, perfect lips and bright blue eyes with silky blonde hair like a halo on top. He was dressed immaculately in a sharp slightly stiff dark blue robes which were opened in front and reached his knees, a slightly lighter blue shirt under, which was tucked neatly into a navy blue pants. He had bluish black dragonhide pointed boots and a black belt to finish off the assemblage. The whole look was done to accentuate his eyes and it worked very well. Even Helen felt a desire for him and wanted to sample the goods so to speak.

Instead she shook her head and looked towards the Griffindor table to try to find a clue or evidence of the new owner of Tom Riddle's diary. The elder most Weasley present in Hogwarts was talking with a few of his year mates and was occasionally glancing towards the Ravenclaw table where Penelope Clearwater was sitting. Interesting, but that didn't seemed out of ordinary. The twins were seated with the rest of the Griffindor Quidditch team and were regaling them of some of their misadventures using animated gestures but that was normal for them.

The youngest Weasley boy was absent and this worried Helen. Thinking back, Helen remembered not seeing him on the train either, which was unusual for him, as he tended to never miss an opportunity to preach about the light side and how she was going dark. He was the dumbest person she had the misfortune of having met and would become a very easy pawn of the diary. Was he already under it's control?

She couldn't follow that line of thought as Professor McGonagall chose that moment to bring in the new Hogwarts students for sorting. They were roughly of the same strength as her own year, about forty. Soon they were sorted and the dinner commenced. Among the first years, she found three students interesting, all for different reasons.

First was Luna Lovegood, one of the newest Ravenclaw. She seemed to be a little out of it, but Helen wondered if there was a reason behind it. She have platinum blonde hair, which were so light in color they seemed to shine, reflecting the light of the candles above. It was, however, her eyes that was the most striking feature, they were large, bright blue and had a glow in them. She had a wide eyed look, as she observed everything around her, though she kept talking about some creatures she keep seeing, that were seemingly invisible and affected people's mind. Helen reserved her judgement on her, though she suspected that the girl was more than what she seemed.

Second was Colin Creevey, an impressionable muggleborn boy, who was also sorted into Ravenclaw. There wasn't anything special about the boy apart from the reasoning behind his sorting into Ravenclaw. Apparently, the sorting hat wanted to please him in Griffindor, but he had insisted to be placed in the same house as Helen Potter. 11 years old, barely knew about the magical world, and already a fanatic, who was hanging on her every work. He reminded Helen of Bellatrix, she was also the same with Voldemort. Helen had full intentions of making him a loyal follower. She smirked thinking of Bella's reaction on being compared to a first year muggleborn.

Last but most concerning was Ginny Weasley, the youngest child and the only daughter of the Weasley clan. She was of course sorted into Griffindor and was sitting close to her brothers who had welcomed her with loud cheers and applaud. What was interesting about her was that Helen had caught her sneaking glances towards herself, and each time she would look away pretending to look or talk to someone else. Helen reassessed her earlier presumption about Ron having the diary. It was possible the Ginny might the one having it. She would have to look out and keep an ear to the ground about strange incidences in Griffindor this year.

Midway through dinner, Helen rejected Ron as a potential candidate as the host of the diary. The idiot had tried to sneak into a crowded great hall, seemingly nonchalant. Halfway to Griffindor table, Professor Snape had grabbed him by the ear and dragged him back out.

The moron had flown an enchanted car from King's Cross to Hogwarts, causing a major breach in the statute of secrecy after being seen by muggles and had crashed into the whomping willow in the Hogwarts ground. All because he was late for train. Haven't he heard about apparition? He was a pureblood after all. And how come he was late while rest of his family had boarded the train? Whatever the reasons, his behavior showed an unprecedented level of stupidity to be under the influence of Riddle. That left Ginny as the main suspect with Percy, Fred and George still as potentials. She would keep an eye out for them.

Soon, the dinner ended and the Ravenclaw house ascended to their tower. Helen and Padma lagged behind a bit as Helen wanted to discuss about their late night plans privately.

"You brought everything?" she quietly asked the Indian girl.

"Yes, everything you require." she replied dutifully.

"Good. Wait for me in your room. I'll come and fetch you at around 11 O'clock." Helen replied assertively. Padma nodded in adherence and they entered the common room.

Helen mingled with her housemates in the common room for an hour. The first years had gone to bed so it was only the older students in the room. The Quidditch team gathered together, already planning their training schedule. They also had a beater position to fill though Robert and Morag were discussing something about that privately. Soon, they laid out their plan. It seems that Robert wanted to change his position to become a beater, making way for Morag to fill the Chaser position. The team decided to try out the new formation first, before the tryouts to check if it would work or not.

Soon, people started leaving for bed and the remaining two second year girls also went to their oval. Morag and Helen joined their year mates to chat for a few more minutes and then they decided to turn in for the night.

Helen went to her room, unpacked and changed into comfortable shorts and singlet. She went out again with a book and spend the next hour reading on the couch as the rest of her year mates went to sleep. At quarter to eleven, she went to her room and brought out her Invisibility Cloak from the trunk. Wrapping it around her, she went out again and quietly entered into Padma's room.

Padma was lying in her bed over the covers wearing a night dress and had her knapsack next to her bed on the floor. She looked up anticipated as her door opened and closed and Helen appeared as she removed her cloak.

"Ready?" Helen asked.

Padma got up, smoothing her clothes and picked up the bag, "Ready."

They sneaked out and reached the room of requirement quickly. Helen made them walk in front of the blank wall three times and the door appeared. She walked into the now familiar room with an awed Padma in tow.

"Welcome to the room of requirement, the greatest creation of the founders." Helen explained as Padma looked around in amazement as the room changed before her very eyes under Helen's will.

She continued, "As you can see and as the name suggests, the room can become whatever you want it to, and could provide almost anything, within a certain limit and adhering to Gamp's laws."

"What's Gamp's law? I've heard about it but don't know what it entails."

"Gamp's Laws to Elemental Transfiguration. McGonagall will teach the basics this year, but the detailed versions will be taught in our OWL year. I'll explain it to you briefly while we make the preparations."

Padma nodded and took off the bag, opening it and started placing the contents on a table that appeared in front on her. Helen started explaining as she drew seven circles or chakras of different sizes whose centers were in a line from south to north.

"While the name suggests that the laws applies to transfiguration, in truth, they apply to the entire major branch of magical conjuration. Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration is a fundamental property of magic which identifies what can be conjured and what cannot. Generally speaking, they state that one cannot create something from nothing."

She started working on the smaller chakras first, filling in the details and then moved to the two bigger ones, the first and the third.

"The laws are often cited as exceptions, because simplified the five laws state five things or rather entities that cannot be created out of nothing. These are in order, food, money, life, knowledge and love. One cannot create those from nothing." Helen explained as she finished the third chakra, smaller of the the two largest ones.

"Ok. I think I understand. I'll read up on them and will ask my questions on them later. Right now, I'm interested in what we are doing right now. I know you said you were doing an ancient Indian ritual and I can see the seven chakras with a focus on first and third but that doesn't explain what it does.", said Padma.

"I'll explain it, but first I want you to try to theorize what it does."

"Hmm..., with the focus on first and third chakra, it obviously has to do something with physical aspect of the body, and as the first is the largest, I guess it has something to do with stability or safety?"

"Correct. Good deduction. But you are not there yet. Think of the ingredients which you have collected in conjunction with what you deduced from my work." Helen replied as she added finishing touch to the first chakra.

"You especially asked me to get Neem leaves and the Himalayan yellow mountain flower. The flower, I know, works as an antidote to a lot of poisons, and especially to mind altering potions. Neem leaves act as an immunity booster and regular use make you resistant to diseases. I don't get how Cobra poison combines with those two." Padma contemplated.

Then she had her eureka moment and exclaimed, "You mean to make your body poison and disease resistant!"

"Bingo!" Helen replied delighted that her friend figured it out. She added a few more ingredients which she had brought herself on the table, most importantly a small vial of Phoenix tear and a bezoar.

Then she spoke, "Though it's a bit more then that. In addition to making myself resistant to poisoning, I'm improving the functioning of my organs, especially the organs of my digestive system as well as my lungs and kidneys, while the other organs will also benefit. This will make my body resistant to all external influences. So, while it would be next to impossible to poison me or influence my mind using potions. However, the trade-off is that other more mundane or beneficial potions and medicines will not work as well on me."

"Oh." Padma said. After thinking for a few moments, as Helen inspected the chakras, she continued, "I guess it is a good trade-off. Once you are more resistant, you wouldn't require medicinal or mundane potions."

"Exactly" Helen replied. "This ritual is a slightly modified version of Chanakya's Immunity ritual, which used to be a popular ritual among your ancestors till around 1000 AD after which it fell into obscurity. I found the original ritual in one of the Parseltongue books you got for me. As the name suggests, it was created by Chanakya. I don't think I need to tell you who that was?"

Padma shook her head. She of course knew of Chanakya, the wizard kingmaker who helped Chandragupta Maurya in uniting India to form the first ever Indian Empire around 3rd century BC, though his grandson, Ashoka, would go on to become much more famous than him.

After a moment Helen asked, "There is an immediate side effect of this ritual. Can you guess?"

After things for a while, Padma couldn't so Helen told her, "As soon as the ritual is complete, my organs will start functioning at a much higher performance level. My body will try to find a new equilibrium. And in order to achieve such state, it will expel all the unwanted things, immediately."

"Oh". Then she understood the implications and exclaimed loudly, "OH!"

"Yes, I'm going to puck a lot of bloody waste and other things as well. It is the reason I haven't eaten all day, apart from an apple in the morning. Its the reason I've being drinking nothing but water all day long and a lot of it, so that the 'cleansing' process is smoother and easier. But it will still happen because the body will require a new equilibrium and that is why I have brought a few concentrated blood replenishing potions, which you will have to feed me if there is excessive blood loss. The process will take a few hours to complete, which is why we are doing it late in night so that by tomorrow morning I'm back to normal. Also, since my body would literally be changing, I'll experience a lot of pain and there will be screaming, so don't be alarmed."

With that she started placing all the ingredients in the right place and rechecked everything, as Padma came to terms with the responsibility that has been placed on her shoulders as well as the fact that her friend was going to be in excruciating pain and she could do nothing to help.

After she was done, Helen, while tying her hair in an overhead ponytail, told Padma "I'm almost ready. Remember, feed me the potions as soon as the vomiting stops."

With that she removed her clothes and stood just south of the first chakra. She had already removed her wand holsters and her wands. She raised her right hand and directed her magic at the center of the first chakra, which started glowing in red color. Soon, the second started glowing in orange, then the third yellow, followed by green, turquoise, blue and violet. As soon as the last chakra started glowing violet, Helen turned around and sat down cross legged with straight back facing south with her eyes closed.

Padma saw as the ingredients started disintegrating and colored light chakras started to form over the drawn ones. These light chakras started moving towards Helen all the while resizing to equal sized circles. Soon they were all about palm sized and were aligned along Helen's spine with the violet one at the top of her head and the red one over her tail bone. As soon as they were aligned they started glowing brighter and brighter. Helen seemed to have started experiencing increasing pain corresponding to the intensity of the light from the circles.

Soon the light was too bright to look at, so Padma moved to Helen's front and saw a painful expression on her friend's face. She wanted to help but she knew better to interfere in a ritual. After a few minutes, the light started to fade but the painful expression on Helen's face didn't change. In fact as soon as the lights went out, she started screaming loudly while wrapping her arms around her abdomen.

Padma started to rush forward, but stopped as the screamed changed into gurgles as Helen started vomiting violently. She tried not to look at the content but it was certainly red and thick. Helen continued to expel slightly viscous contents for a few more minutes. As soon as she stopped she passed out falling into the bloody mess. Or she would have, had Padma not caught her.

She remembered Helen's instructions and tilted her head back, feeding her the potion and coaxed her throat to shallow, ignoring the mess on her body. As soon as the potion was finished, she willed the room to create a bed behind Helen and gently laid her friend on it, sideways in case she pucked some more. Recalling the functions of room, she willed the mess to vanish and summoned a bowl of warm water and a soft towel. She started cleaning her friend, awed by the pain tolerance as well as the determination of her friend to go through all that.

She knew her reasoning of course. Helen had a lot of enemies and as last year have proved, they were not safe in Hogwarts either. It was the reason why she had sworn the oath. Still it took great mental strength and fortitude to put yourself through that much pain.

After witnessing this, she herself was more determined then ever to improve herself to better help her chosen leader.

* * *

**Please Review.**

**Another chapter, another year, another ritual. Tell me how you liked it.**

**Classes begin next chapter, some horcrux fun and what is going on with Lockhart?**

**Wanna know? Stay tuned... :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**Poll results were overwhelmingly for the Raven, and I bow to your suggestions and reasoning.**

**Sorry for the delay guys, real life getting in the way of HP world :P. Have been a huge couple of months for me, got engaged (Yay!), moved in together with bf (****fiance still feels strange)**** to a new town, changed jobs, lots more happening, so it has been busy.**

**Don't worry though, this story will continue for quite some time. I'm already framing an outline for the sequel when this one has barely reached 10% progress *Indigo does a facepalm at her own eagerness*.**

**This Chapter was written almost 2 months ago, but I have a habit of keeping a 2 chapter gap between the latest published and the one I'm currently working on. I had been stuck on a scene in ch 15 for a month now, but finally got it done yesterday and have progressed to Ch 16, thus you guys are finally getting this one. Sorry, but this scheme of mine help me keep a continuity between chapters and help remove major errors from the plot/story.**

**Anyways, Enjoy!**

* * *

Helen came back to consciousness and was greeted by awful pain all over her abdomen and kidneys. It was like someone was chopping her organs into tiny little pieces. The pain was of the magnitude similar to the Sumerian magical channel ritual she had performed last year. But while the pain in that one was a bit of a shock and short lived, this ritual left her with lingering pain which had developed over time and was persistent. She would remain in this painful state for a few hours till her body finds a new stable state at which time the pain will rapidly recede.

She felt a cool cloth running over her neck and face and realized that she was lying on a soft surface, probably a bed. Padma must have put her in it and likely had cleaned her up after she had expelled the extra toxin from her body. She however had another urgent matter to attend before she could properly thank the Indian girl.

Helen opened her eyes and got up as quickly as she could, groaning all the while. She willed a toilet nearby and stumbled over towards it with the help of Padma. As soon as she was sitting, she let go. The liquid burned its way through her, though it didn't cause any damage, thanks to her generous intake of water throughout the day. After peeing for over two minutes, she cleaned up and got out of the WC.

Padma was standing just outside ready to help her, and half carried, half guided her back to bed. Once she was back on her back, Padma covered her nude body with a warm sheet and sat at the bed side.

Helen looked at her friend and said heartily, "Thank you for taking care of me."

Padma blushed at the sincerity in her voice and spoke, "There is no need for thanks. You would have done the same for me. Though I would have preferred that you hadn't gone through that at all."

Helen tried a mischievous smile, which probably might have looked like a grimace, "I will be doing the same. I want you to perform this ritual as well."

Padma blanched at that prospect and asked worriedly, "Do I have to? I am very unlikely to be a target of poisoning or something." she tried desperately to avoid the terrible process herself.

"It would be a relief for me if you do it." Helen responded, looking at her with big earnest eyes.

Padma soon capitulated and dreadfully agreed to the ritual. Once that was done, she started fussing our Helen making sure she was at ease and as comfortable as she could be.

In order to divert her mind from the pain, Helen teased the girl, "So did you enjoy feeling my body?"

As Padma blushed at her insinuation, Helen continued with a playful smirk, "You could join me in the bed. Keep me company. It is quite late after all."

Controlling her blush, Padma replied with her own smirk "You were covered in sick and blood, so I could hardly enjoy it. And despite the fact that you are beautiful and very pleasing to look at, I don't swing that way. I'm straight as a beam of light."

Helen smiled and said, "I know silly. I was just teasing."

Padma replied with her own smile, "I know."

"Though you should really get in the bed though. It really is quite late and we have classes in the morning." Helen said summoning a clock to show that it was nearing 1 O'clock in the night.

Padma agreed and join her in the bed, but summoned separate covers, causing Helen to smirk.

"What? you are naked under that sheet. And also I don't want to accidentally hurt you during the night." said Padma.

Helen's smirk turned into a warm smile at hearing the concern and she took her hand into her own, holding it tightly. They fell asleep like that holding each other's hand.

XXXXX

Helen woke up from an uncomfortable sleep at 4:30. The pain had started receding and would be completely gone in a few minutes. She remained on the bed till then, looking at the peaceful face of her beautiful friend. Too bad she was not even slightly bisexual because her lips looked very kissable. She had flawless rose beige colored skin with dark brown almost black hair and big brown eyes. Her face was oval shaped with perfect little nose that Helen found completely adorable.

Helen looked away before her overactive libido made her do something regrettable. She really had to find someone to sate her needs which, she thought, wouldn't be very difficult, recalling the looks she got during the dinner last night.

Once the pain was gone she got up and left the bed. She felt better than ever, as if her body had more energy, despite the fact that she had not eaten at all yesterday. She summoned a mirror and checked herself out. Her skin looked even more healthier than before, it was almost glowing. She willed the mirror away and mentally called for a bath.

After soaking in warm water for over twenty minutes, she got out and wore a fresh pair of shorts and T-shirt. She gently woke Padma up, and dragged the sleepy girl back to their rooms. After making sure Padma was nicely tucked in for another hour of sleep, Helen went into her room and brought out her new pet project.

She had seen a few muggles using mobiles, which were like portable telephones to communicate on the go and she wanted to replicate that device using magic. Her enchanting skills were decent enough by now, to make a very basic device. Though she planned on making them much better then the muggle mobiles. She wanted people to talk face to face, similar to floo, but using a handheld gadget.

She sat in the oval by the huge window and worked on it for an hour till her year-mates started waking up. Packing her sheets of formulae and diagrams, she stood up and went to wake up Padma, who she knew would have a difficult day ahead of her, as she wasn't used to just 4-5 hours of sleep.

Soon they were all sitting in the great hall having breakfast, wondering which classes they would attend today. Helen was having an extra large and heavy breakfast, something she had never done before, of bacon, turkey sandwiches, eggs and oatmeal with milk.

Their group had two new additions today, in the form of Colin and Luna, both were invited by Helen to join them. Colin was extremely excited to sit by Helen and Luna had greeted a strange good morning, "Hello, Helen Potter. You look much cleaner today." And then she started making a fortress of bread, bacon and sausages.

"Um, thanks." Helen replied, not knowing what else to say and suppressed her surprise. That confirmed it for though, Luna certainly was a seer of some sort. She wondered how to deal with her.

"You seem to be attracting a few wrackspurts. It's strange, as yesterday you were among the very few people who had none." Luna said to her before demolishing her breakfast fortress.

Everyone just looked at her strangely for a moment and went back to eating without saying anything. Helen realized one thing then, she would have to look out for Luna, as her psyche seemed to be not completely there, as was the case with most of the seers and she would be a target for bullies, which unfortunately, her house was full of.

Soon professor Flitwick came around distributing their timetables, which Padma was very happy to see, as they had the whole forenoon session free today, giving her time to catch a few more hours of sleep. Their timetable was still top heavy with 5 sessions on Mondays, with every other day having only 2 or 3 classes and Fridays completely off except for Astronomy class late in the night. On Mondays they had DADA double joint session in morning followed by afternoon classes of history of magic and transfiguration respectively, both with Griffindor, right after lunch. Wednesdays had a repeat of afternoon classes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays in the first period they had potions with Hufflepuff followed by Herbology and Charms both with Griffindors again and had the whole afternoon free. On Fridays, their whole morning and afternoon were free with only an astronomy class late in the night.

Only the first years and the fifth years had separate DADA classes in Hogwarts with a pair of houses, rest of them had joint sessions on the subject with all the students of that year attending the class together.

Since they had a lot of free time this year, Helen planned to focus on all her extra-curricular works and make good progress in each. For alchemy, she would have her work cut out as she needed to become proficient in a lot of different subjects, starting with potions. She planned on getting Snape to give her extra lessons.

She looked over at the staff table and saw him getting up to head towards the dungeons. She excused herself from the group and quickly followed the potion master. She caught up to him on the stairs down to the upper dungeons.

"Good morning, Professor." she greeted him cordially, stepping along with him.

"Morning, Miss Potter." he replied raising an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing here? I don't recall the second years having a potions class today."

"I have a request, Sir." Helen asked in a faux nervous voice.

His eyebrow climbed even higher at her words. He signaled her to continue.

Helen started with deliberate hesitancy, "I was wondering if I could use a station in your lab for practice and research, with your permission of course, Sir. I'm really interested in the art of potion making and wanted to do extra work on it from this year onward. I promise I'll not disturb you or anyone else in the laboratory and will clean up after I'm done."

She gave him a big earnest eyed look to further influence his decision, knowing that it would make it difficult for him to say no to her.

He relented after a minute and asked her to follow him. He took her to the main classroom and then through the door on the side into a smaller room. The room had a few empty potions stations, a desk in the corner with a lot of glassed cabinets alone the wall. There was a tall bookshelf filled to brim with potions text in another corner, with a couple of armchairs nearby. A fireplace was across the desk, probably for the floo connection. The was a low table next to it, carrying cauldrons of different metals and sizes.

Snape started explaining, "This is my private laboratory and office. You may use the stations here, as the ones in the main room are for class work only. The ingredients cabinets are off-limits without my permission. You may consult the books from that bookshelf, except from the top 3 shelves which you will not be able to access anyways as they are warded. You may use the apparatus and the cauldrons, but I expect them to be cleaned after you are done. If I'm working in the room, I expect you to keep the sound levels at the minimum. If a class is in session, you may use that door to enter and leave this room." he finished pointing at the door on the far wall.

She nodded at the instructions and he continued, "Understand that this is a privilege I'm giving to you. I expect you to follow these instructions or else I'll take away the privilege, to be never given again." He paused to make sure the message was received. "Now, I have the OWL students in a few minutes. You may use the lab right now if you wish." he ended softly and was that hope in his voice?

"The door is password protected, which currently is set to 'Mora Tapinella'." with that he turned around and left for the class.

"Wow!" Helen whispered to herself. She had expected only to get access to the classroom during the off hours and maybe a recommendation or two for books to read, but not this. She looked around the treasure trove Snape had opened up for her. A well equipped potions lab with a whole collection of related texts at her disposal. And a potions master available most of the time to consult. Maybe her charms and persuasions had worked better than what she expected.

She would have to do something nice for him. She hadn't done anything for when he had saved her last year during her Quidditch match. The problem was how to go about it.

Putting that aside for now, she went to the bookshelf and after browsing, pulled out a couple of heavy texts. Taking her robes off, she settled in an armchair for a long read.

XXXXX

Snape was distracted throughout the whole session with the fifth year Griffindors and Slytherins. The cause of his distraction was sitting in his office currently. For his fifth years he usually started with a theory lecture, but today he had just given them instructions for a simple potion and had sat in his chair for the whole double period. Once the class was done and the students had left, he got up and carefully entered into his office. He knew she hadn't left yet, as he had monitoring charm on his office door and no one had left through it.

She was sitting on his favorite armchair facing towards him, reading what appeared to be a quite advanced text on the effects of temperature variation in potion making. She had another heavy text opened on the side table, whose cover he couldn't see but guessed it was the one that explained controlling exothermic reactions. She had to be far too advanced to even understand what those books had in them. Most of students who he had just dismissed wouldn't understand a word in those books.

He quietly made his way over to his desk and sat down to observe the girl. She had taken her heels off and was sitting with her legs folded and the book resting in her lap. She would occasionally look over to the other text and go back to reading the one in her lap. He tried to guess which exact topic she was reading but keep getting distracted by the way she would bit her lip in concentration or how short her skirt was.

Realizing he was being a creep, he looked away and started working on his own research. He didn't make much progress because his eyes kept shifting to the girl, but every time he forced himself to concentrate on his work.

XXXXX

A throat clearing sound took Helen's attention away from the book. She looked up surprised to find Professor Snape sitting in his desk, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"It's ten minutes to lunch. You might want to attend that." He said.

Helen blushed a bit, having completely missed him entering the room or that almost three hours had gone by.

He suddenly asked her, "You already know that Porcupine quills should not be added to a cauldron with an active flame under it. Explain to me the reason for it as well as the exception to that practice."

Helen automatically answered, "Procupine quills have an exothermic reaction with most of the common ingredients. To add them in a cauldron over fire would either melt the cauldron, if one is lucky, or, in the worst case, cause it the blow. It can be added to low heated cauldrons in small quantities if a heat suppressing ingredient, like the dragon's tongue flower, is already in it."

Snape nodded, "I see that your understand the concepts in that book. I also see that you are far ahead of your curriculum. I wonder how you got that far ahead."

He posted it like a question, so Helen answered, "I'm really interested in potions, Professor. I plan to get a mastery in the subject and try to break your record as the youngest potion master." She gave him an angelic smile, "I hope you wouldn't mind my ambition."

He smirked at her cheekiness, "Lofty ambition, you will have to work very hard and dedicate a lot of time and effort to achieve it. You certainly have the potential." He hesitated for a second and continued, "You may come here whenever you want to work or research. If you have difficulty in understanding any concepts, you may come to me."

"Now, if you wish to eat at all, you should go as the lunch have already started."

Helen nodded and closed the books after noting the page she was on. She got up and smoothed her clothes, fully knowing that his eyes followed the path of her hands. She picked the books up and set that back in their proper place. She picked up her robes and held them in her arm and turned towards him.

With an affectionate smile, she said "Thank you, Professor, for allowing me access to your private lab and for this opportunity."

His face softened a bit and he nodded back at her. She then left for lunch, with a spring in her step.

XXXXX

Monday dawned bright and with second years excited as they had Lockhart first thing in morning. The review from the other years who had attended his classes had been mixed so far. Some were enraptured by his classes after the disappointment of Quirrell's stutter last year while some were ambivalent and thought he was a bit boring. That the first group mostly consisted of girls and the second mostly of boys might have something to do with their opinions.

From what she had heard, Helen gathered that so far Lockhart had all the classes revising what they had learned in previous years to get a picture of their understanding of subject matter. Helen thought that he was doing the right thing to test the scope of their knowledge before starting to teach them something new. For the first years he had started with his book _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests_ teaching them how to counter the pests commonly found in magical dwellings.

After breakfast, the second years climbed to the first floor into a different classroom then last year. This one was much larger and had a conical shape, with a raised platform for the teacher at the front and rows of curved desks for three, with each row slightly higher than the one before it. The teacher's platform was quite big, enough for a practice duel, if required.

She knew that DADA actually had 3 separate classrooms. This was the bigger lecture hall, there was a smaller version of it in which they attended classes last year, and there was another even larger than this one which was a big rectangular room with a lot of open space where all the students of a class could practice spells and dueling simultaneously.

She sat down in front with Hermione and Daphne, with the rest of the girls taking up the remaining front seats while the boys happily occupied the back seats. Lockhart was already present standing next to his desk, regally looking over the students with a pleasant smile on his face. When the last student sat down, he began.

"Good morning everyone. I am Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming-Smile Award - but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!" he said with a grin. The class gave a short laugh.

Beaming he continued, "First of we will have a quiz of sorts, to know at what level your knowledge is."

He handed out the test papers and and returned to the front of the class, "You have thirty minutes - start - now!"

The quiz consisted of questions based on the topics learned in the 1st year DADA classes, most of which required either one word or very short answers and covered the complete course of the first year defense class. Helen started working on her paper immediately and her friends did the same as well. This was after all quite a simple test for her group, whom she had started tutoring during the last year.

Lockhart, meanwhile, roamed around the class, occasionally peering into the answer sheet of few students, making sound ques indicating their performance. When he looked over the almost completed sheet of Helen, he gave her a brilliant smile, she returned one of her own at him and went back to her paper to complete the last few questions. She was done a couple of minutes later. She checked the time, it was still over ten minutes to go, so she decided to observe her new teacher.

On seeing her head up, Lockhart approached her and asked, "Done?"

"Yes, Professor." she replied softly with a smile, so as to not disturb her classmates. He gestured for her to hand over the answer sheet and she passed it over to him. He seemed a bit surprised on finding all the answers correct and gave her an approving look.

Soon, the time was up and everyone submitted their answer sheets. As soon as the last sheet was handed over, Lockhart started, "I'll assess these later, however, I did check your performance while you were answering the questions. It seems your previous teacher was not very, er... shall we say, efficient, in conveying his knowledge to you. We shall have to rectify the damage caused by that as well as learn about more advanced spells and dangerous creatures. However, I must commend Miss Potter here, who not only had answered all the questions correctly, but did so in almost half the time. Well done, Miss Potter, 20 points to Ravenclaw for your effort."

He looked proudly at her with those bright beautiful eyes, causing her to blush slightly. She gracefully accepted his appreciation and he began teaching. The class was a bit routine as Lockhart had them revise the contents of last year, but Helen thought that it was a wise plan considering that apart from her group, most of the students were lacking when it came to details and intricacies of first year DADA course matter. Still, it was a bit boring for her and she let her mind wander.

At the end of the class, Lockhart asked her to stay behind. When it was only the two of them left he spoke, "I saw that you were not paying attention during the class, Miss Potter. I understand it though, considering you already knew the subject matter. However, from the next onwards, we will start with the new topics, so I expect you to pay attention in the class. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor." Helen replied.

"Now that that's out of way" he continued more cheerfully, "the reason I held you back is two fold. One, I see that you are more advanced than the rest of your peers, so if you ever wish to learn something advanced or out of the curriculum, you can approach me and I will help you as long as it is not dangerous or dark. After all, I understand your thirst of knowledge as I was a Ravenclaw as well." he said will with a conspiratorial grin, Helen returned her own.

"Secondly, I understand, that like me, you also have quite a fame in our world. But unlike me, you do not have any experience on how to deal with it. Being famous can be a double edged sword, it can be rewarding and glorious but it can also be tedious and painful. I would like you to know that my door is always open for you, if you ever need advice or help in this regard. In fact, in the next few weeks, I would like it if you would come to my office to talk about it, even if you don't have any troubles yet. I'll help you cope with the stress of being the center of everyone's attention." She consented and he let her go.

She started towards the grounds, as her friends had gone out to get some sun. On her way she thought about the conversion she just had. She was pleased to have made acquaintance with Lockhart as more than just a teacher-student relationship. To know him personally could be quite useful for her in the social circles and could open many doors for her that otherwise would be difficult for her to open on her own. She had noticed that he was a bit vain and narcissistic and liked to be in the limelight. All she had to do was be nice and slightly vulnerable in front of him and he will jump at the opportunity to be a mentor to the Girl-Who-Lived.

As she joined her friends in the sun, she framed a plan of action to handle Lockhart and to coax him into introducing her to his social circle. She will go meet him in his office later this month and will try to further strengthen their relations. For now though she wanted to get some sun while it lasted, so she took off her robes, shoes and socks and laid down besides Micheal to enjoy the heat.

XXXXX

The Ravenclaw Quidditch team had a practice session early in the morning on Wednesday to check out the feasibility of Morag's and Robert's plan for the team. They practiced with Morag, Cho and Roger playing as Chasers while Robert filled up the vacant Beater position. After an hour of practice the team decided that the current line was quite good as the three chasers worked very well together and Robert was quite at home with a Beater bat in his hand. They decided that they would only change the positions if they find an exceptional flyer in the tryouts, otherwise they would only recruit the two reserves.

Three days later, on Saturday, they held the tryouts. They didn't find anyone better to replace any of the current starting seven, so they filled the reserves with the best of the lot. Roger's year-mate Isaac Lewis and a 5th year Joseph Hughes made the cut. Robert believed that this year they were probably one of the favorites to win the cup as the best team for last year, Hufflepuff's, was now pretty much gone as three of their starting players had graduated last year. Slytherin were in a similar position as they too had lost two of their starting players from last year.

Later as they met in the sixth year's Oval for a tactical meeting, they did a SWOT analysis of all the teams. Griffindors had the strongest defense with the best Keeper and Beaters in Hogwarts, while their Chaser trio would be better as well this year after playing together for a year. However, they would have a new Seeker after they decided to kick McLaggen off the team. That made their team unbalanced with no good overall strategy available for them to apply to their gameplay except to drag the game as long as possible to allow their Chasers to outscore their opponents, if possible.

Hufflepuff had to rebuild their team with an eye on the future as well. They had two new Chasers and a new Keeper, undermining both their offense and defense. Furthermore, they will have two more spots to fill next year as their last Chaser and one of the Beater would graduate this year. Keeping that in mind they had recruited from the lower years so as to not have the same problem for some time. One of Cedric's dorm-mate was selected as Keeper while the Chaser spots were filled by a 3rd year boy and Megan Jones from Helen's year. Both the reserves were 4th years. In Robert's opinion they were the weakest time this year and Helen and the rest of the team agreed.

Slytherin were the other favorites this year despite loosing 2 starting players from last year. The reason for that however was not talent but equipment. Malfoy Sr. had bought the whole team the latest Nimbus brooms, the 2001's, which were the fastest in the world, as long as Draco got the Seeker spot. Slytherin hadn't outed this information yet, but Helen was informed about it by Daphne, who found the whole idea of nepotism, stupid. Higgs had gone back to fill the Chaser spot and a 6th year boy was their new Keeper. Malfoy was of course their newest Seeker and had the broom advantage over the rest of the Seekers.

Ravenclaw had mostly intact team from last year with only Morag coming in from the reserves. They likely had the best Chaser trio and they certainly had the best Seeker in Helen. Their defense was the second best after Griffindor's with talented and experienced Keeper and Beaters. Over all, they had a very balanced team and could use multiple strategies to approach the game, depending on the oppositions and their weaknesses.

For example, for their first game, against Hufflepuff, they were planning to play a very fast and aggressive game to unnerve the new players and take advantage of the lack of cohesion to make a lot of interceptions and blocks. In all, they thought that this was their year and were going to work hard and smart to get their hands on the cup at the end of the year.

XXXXX

That Sunday Helen redid the two repeatable rituals from last year, the Sumerian magical channels ritual and the Akkadian magical capacity ritual. This time she had let the Sumerian ritual go on for much longer due to her increased tolerance and determination to improve herself beyond the normal limits. The results were phenomenal as her magical channels were wider and smoother than ever and her magical usage efficiency was staggering.

she had been performing the Akkadian ritual regularly at safe intervals, throughout the last year, which compounded by her rigorous magical practice sessions had made a significant increase in her magical capacity.

Next Saturday, Helen helped Padma perform the modified Chanakya's immunity ritual and took care of her friend after the ritual was done. Padma's ritual had also gone smoothly with minimal mess as Helen had allowed her to eat only fruits and vegetables for the whole week and had allowed only water for the last day before ritual. Despite that Padma had taken the whole next day to recover because she didn't had the fortitude Helen had.

Helen had started spending a lot of time in Snape's office, mostly while he was present as well. Her reason for doing so was to advance her knowledge in Potions and in turn Alchemy. Snape had been a great help in this regard as with his help she was now much advanced in the subject. According to him she could write her OWLs right now and would get a perfect score in them. She reckoned that by the end of the year she would be beyond even NEWT level and wondered should she give the exams and start working on Potion mastery at that point or should she remain obscure. She would ask Snape for his recommendations as he was smart enough to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both the paths.

Apart from potions she had started worked extra hard to advance her transfiguration knowledge. She especially focused on inaminate to inaminate transfiguration for now, to understand the change in the physical chemistry of the object as it went through the transformation. This was the necessary as most of the basic alchemy focused on imanimate objects.

She practiced on a single object changing its form multiple times and studied the effects of such transformations on the molecular structure of the object. She would make slight variations at every step in her experiments to compare the results. Once that was done, she started changing the base object bring in further variations. At times she would use the same object over multiple experiments to study the residual effects of the previous experiments on the object.

The end result of all her work was that by the end of September she was ready to properly start her basic Alchemy studies, something that was used to be offered to only the best 6th years in Hogwarts, back when Dumbledore was still in school. She had found the proper books in the Room of Requirement and had started studying the subject. The very first transformation was turning soil into rock. On paper it seemed simple enough, as there was no change in state of the matter, as both were solids, neither was there any change in the chemical composition. The only thing to change was the molecular structure and the bonding between different molecular groups.

So far Helen had failed to make even a pebble, let alone a stone or a rock. She knew what she had to do, and how to do it. It was the execution that was eluding her for the past several hours. The visualization techniques of transfiguration had utterly failed her and she could not fathom how to proceed.

So for now, she set the topic aside and started working on the other thing that had caught her interest. She had known for a while now that her animagus form was a bird from the Corvus genus and she had been meditating on finding out which species, so that she could start working on actual transformation. She sat done on the ground, Indian style and closed her eyes to start her meditation. An hour she opened her eyes with a satisfied smile on her face. She was a Raven.

Fitting, she thought to herself as Ravens were clever, opportunistic and extremely versatile and intelligent. They were aggressive when they had to be and while they mostly bonded for life, they were not monogamous. She felt the common Raven suited her perfectly and got up to inform Padma of her discovery. Padma was at the other end of the room, which had a sound barrier in the middle, so that they both were not disturbed by other's activity. She was currently practicing hexes and curses that Helen had insisted she learn. Based on the broken dummies lying around, she was making good progress.

"It's a Raven." Helen said after crossly the sound barrier.

"Hmm, it suits you." Padma replied wiping sweat off her brow, "Intelligent, smart and aggressive. Just like you."

XXXXX

They celebrated Hermione's birthday in the second year Ravenclaw oval, as it was more convenient because Hermione's friend circle consisted mostly of the Ravenclaws. Susan, Hannah, Daphne and Tracey had the permission to attend the party from their respective head of the houses while Hermione had the permission to even stay overnight. The party was different from most of the Ravenclaw's party as, first it was a much more private affair, and second it resembled a slumber party more than anything else. Everyone was in nightclothes and they the cake and dinner in the oval itself.

After food came presents and Helen had gotten Hermione a necklace and earrings set of diamonds and a ruby drop done in silver. She had it custom made especially for Hermione and had specifically asked for Silver and not Platinum which was usually used in such sets. The reason for that was the enchanting she wanted to do on it and platinum was a poor magic holder metal unlike gold and silver while worked very well with magic. It was the reason most of the magical jewelry was made of those two metals.

The precious stones were the best naturally existing materials for enchantments and Helen made use of them to put in as much as she could without compromising the power. The set was of simple design but elegant, something was could be worn everyday or even to formal events. Helen had the former in mind so that Hermione could had some protection all the time. The left earring was enchanted to detect poisons and mind altering potions. She had left the right earring empty for installing a communication enchantment once she develops it. The necklace had two separate enchantments on it. First was a shielding enchantment that would activate only for dark curses and will provide some protection against them. The second was a protection from the elements which would provide some protection from elemental magics and will also keep her comfortable in extreme weathers.

There was also a subtle notice-me-not enchantment woven in the chain of the necklace which hid the jewelry set from curious eyes.

Once everyone started heading for bed, Helen had explained to Hermione what all extra she had added to the set. Once she explained the enchantments she explained her reasoning, "I'm constantly worried about you being alone in your house, especially if someone targeted you because of your association with me. Same goes for when you go back to the muggle world for the holidays. These will keep you safe from the dark curses and potions. I would like it it you would wear them daily."

Helen held Hermione's hand as she said the last sentence, beseeching her to agree with her. She needn't have to, as Hermione engulfed her in a tight hug saying a heartfelt 'Thank You'. She released her after a minute and busied herself in wearing the jewelry. Once she was done she showed them to Helen, who commented that she looked beautiful in them, making her blush.

Soon everyone went to their sleeping bags and were quickly asleep.

XXXXX

Helen was quiet fascinated with the mobile phone technology that the muggles had developed. She had been working on making a similar device using her enchanting skill. So far she had made a pair of connected mirrors using her enchanting and runes skill, similar to the monitoring device she had made last year for the forbidden corridor, but unlike the monitoring device this could transmit signals both ways.

In a way it was better than the mobile phones as one could talk face to face, however there was a limitation as it worked only in pairs, so far. She would have to come up with a different enchantments and rune schematic to enable mass communication. If she was able to successfully do what she sought out to do, she could revolutionize the wizarding world's communication and maybe even entertainment systems.

But that was for later as her mind came back to present when she felt Chester's hands on the waist of her skirt, asking permission to remove the article. She nodded giving her consent while thinking about how they reached to this moment.

_*Flashback*_

She had known since last year that Chester White was attracted to her. She had seen him sneaking glances at her during Quidditch practices, while they were in the common room and had felt his attraction whenever she had danced with him at the house parties. Foreseeing a solution for her needs, she had acted. So, yesterday she had confronted him late in the common room, when there were only a few students left. She had pulled him into a secluded corner and had given him his wish, sort of. She had kissed the surprised boy heatedly, making sure her intentions were conveyed. Then she had left him there dry and hard, saying that if he wanted more, he would have to do a few things for her.

He had immediately capitulated and had asked her what she wished. She had then produced a magical agreement, without signing which he wouldn't even get a peck on cheek. The agreement basically stipulated that they will become sort of friends-with-benefits and only Helen could decide what they will do or not, sexually. In addition there was a discretion clause in it, which stated that he cannot disclosure to anyone about their carnal activities or the status of their relationship or anything else he leans about Helen or her activities during such times, when they were together.

He had read the agreement a few times and was reluctant to sign such a constricting agreement but had relented when Helen had given him a sultry look while leaning forward giving him a glorious view down her night gown, showing him what he would be missing if he didn't sign it. After he had signed the agreement, Helen had given her new boy-toy a peek on his cheek and left for the night, leaving him confused and aroused.

Today after Quidditch practice and showers, she had held him back and after the course was clear they had proceeded to old staff quarters on the third floor. She had cleaned up the room early in the morning as she didn't wanted to waste time later they arrived.

As soon as the door was locked and sound proofed she had attacked his mouth and started making out passionately for several minutes, all the while tearing off his robes and shirt. She had pushed him on the bed and had climbed on top of him, landing kisses over his muscular chest, which he had gotten by workout regime set for the beaters to give them upper body strength. She sucked and nibbled at his nipples, making him groan and trailed her mouth down over his abs. She unbuckled his belt and dragged his trousers down along with his shoes and socks, leaving him only in his pants, which were tented due to him being extremely aroused.

She had started her upward journey again, caressing him from knees to thighs, her palm brushing teasingly over the head of his covered erection before gliding across his belly. Every muscle there clenched, and he inhaled a sharp breath. She laid over his body, trapping him between her legs and joined her lips to his, while their tongues battled for dominance.

He had then suddenly flipped her onto her back on the bed and got over her, keeping their mouths attached while displaying his physical strength. His mouth then started a downward decent, taking advantage of her wide neck top to kiss and lick at her neck and collarbone, while his hands felt her breasts over her top. He had then skipped her whole upper body and had gone to her ankles to remove her flats and had started moving up with his lips and tongue exploring her long and shapely legs, making her sigh in pleasure.

_*End Flashback*_

Right now he was unzipping her skirt after asking her permission and she raised her hips slightly so that the article could be removed easily. When he was done, he moved upwards, raising the hem of her top with his hands, while his mouth followed creating a wet path over her flat abdomen as it moved northwards. Soon his hands reached the bottom of her breasts and he looked at her seeking approval. 'Cute' Helen thought to herself, considering she was already only in her thong from below the waist.

Nonetheless, she answered by raising her upper body and let him remove her top while she unhooked her bra. She slowly and seductively removed the cups of her cotton bra while looking at him with smoky eyes and luscious look. He was transfixed by the mesmerizing view of her naked perfectly shaped breasts. He just sat there for a while looking at the symmetric round mounds with pink peaks that were hard as diamonds and waiting to be worshiped. And worship he did as he brought his mouth around her left nipple and started sucking at it while his left hand went to fondle her right breast.

Helen laid back down to enjoy the sensations he was producing with his tongue, lips and fingers. She arced her back to further press her breasts into his face while keeping his head in place by lightly gripping his hair with her left hand. Her right hand explored the wide expanse of his muscular back as he switched his mouth to her other breasts. At one moment he buried his face into her cleavage and growled his satisfaction, causing her amusement at the typical male reaction. She had a mini orgasm after a few minutes of attention to her breasts and her hands silently coaxed him to go lower and he complied.

As he reached her panties, he hooked his thumbs into the sides and this time started tugging without asking. She raised her hips to ease his job and soon was completely bare to his visual pleasure. He didn't waste time as he started kissing her inner thighs from her knees and slowly moved upwards. She opened her legs to welcome him to the ultimate target. He paused just below the junction of her legs and looked directly at her hairless core with wonder.

She didn't let him stare for long and lightly urged him towards it with her hands in his hair. He tentatively started kissing her outer lips and she relaxed into the mattress giving herself to the pleasure. Soon, however, she realized that Chester had no experience with pleasing a woman so she started guiding him in the proper way to do so by either making appropriate sound cues conveying her approval or displeasure with his actions or by outrightly telling him what to do.

He proved to be a good Ravenclaw as soon after he had her getting excited. She stopped talking then and gave herself to the sensations, while her hands started fondling her breasts. He started with his tongue flicking rapidly on her nub while his fingers caressed her folds and gently entered inside, massaging just inside her entrance, causing her great pleasure evidenced by the liquid on his fingers. A few minutes later he switched positions with his tongue now aggressively prodding her while he used his thumb and fingers to tease, pinch and flick her nub, intensifying her arousal and bringing her close to an orgasm. Minutes later he brought her to a screaming orgasm that left her in a boneless bliss. He came up with a masculine satisfied smirk on his face that men only got when they knew they had thoroughly satisfied a woman.

She looked up at him with enticing eyes and pulled him down onto her to give him a fervent hot kiss, tasting herself on his lips. His hands started exploring her body with abandon and she felt his hardness poking in between her legs. She slowly rolled them over so that she was on the top and he took advantage of her more exposed body to explore even further. His hands rested on her hips and squeezed making her moan into his mouth. He pressed her down so that his covered hardness poked right at her core.

She started her downwards trek after giving him a lingering kiss and licked and nibbled her way down. She left a few love bites on his chest and made way further down, gently biting each of his abs and reached the waistband of his pants. She tugged it down, finally releasing him from the confines of the underwear. He was above average in length easily over six inches and had a nice girth as well. His hair were trimmed to a few millimetres, leaving him completely unhidden. He was uncircumcised and his head was wider than the rest of him.

She removed his underwear and went back to his hardness, bending over it while kneeing between his legs. Her hand wrapped around him, sliding up his shaft with a firm, confident stroke. Chester arched his back and groaned. He gasped and made to sit up when she ran her tongue along his length from base to tip. The shock of that caress, the intensity of pleasure sent bolts of sensation firing through every part of his body having never felt the like this before.

"Helen," he said between strangled breaths.

Helen paused to lift her head, and he made a frustrated moan. Her eyes shone lustrous in the semi-darkness of the room, and there was a rose tint on her face. Her lips were full, red and damp. "Do you want me to do that again, Chester?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Yes." he whimpered.

She traced spirals with her fingers around his navel before journeying up his torso to tease his nipple while her other hand encircled the base of his cock. "What was it? I couldn't hear." She asked with a smirk.

"Yes, Gods, yes", he groaned loudly between clenched teeth, the words guttural and deep as his hips lifted to thrust against her grip.

"Good, because I want to please you." Once more she stroked him, this time her grip firmer, the caress faster.

She could hear his heart hammering as he said an incoherent, "Please."

As a reward for the please, she slid her tongue along the same path as her hand, ending at the tip, where she sucked the head of his hardness gently into her mouth. Her caresses grew bolder as she drew him ever deeper into her mouth. Her tongue seemed to wrap serpentine around his sensitive flesh, and he shivered at the faintest scrape of her teeth on him. The contours of her mouth shaped around him as she sucked harder, moving slowly up and down his length. He uttered her name amidst a long groan and buried his hands in her hair to cup her head.

His hips rose to match the rhythm she set, as did his moans of encouragement. "Ah gods, Helen. It's...it's." Helen sensed him reaching close, so she increased her pace, drawing ever harder on him, sucking him in deeper until he cried out a wordless plea.

"Stop," he shouted. "I'm going to come in your mouth if you don't stop." knowing that it was bad if he did so without warning. Helen appreciated the warning and completely ignored it as she was also quiet aroused and wanted to taste him.

He came explosively in her mouth screaming her name and she immediately started swallowing. He was warm and tasted salty. He fell back onto the bed after a few moments completely spent while Helen milked the last of the seed from his softening hardness. When there was no more left she released him with a gentle kiss. The bed creaked slightly as she joined him to cuddle in a post orgasmic bliss.

They relaxed for a while and talked about nonsensical things as their hands gently caressed each other's body. Soon, however, Helen felt him harden again and with a smirk again got on top of him, this time facing away, with her moist core right over his face. He got the idea and reached up with his tongue and lips just as she wrapped his hardness with her tongue.

It was almost an hour later when they finally got up from the bed, both completely satisfied.

XXXXX

Helen joined her friends for lunch, after a shower, completely sated for the first time in a long time. Poor Chester had no energy left and had gone for a nap after their fun. This let Helen knew that while he was a good start, Chester himself wouldn't be enough to satisfy her needs and she would have to look for more partners.

She had also refrained from actual intercourse as she was saving herself for a special occasion. She didn't want to be her first time to be just 'taking care of her needs'. No, she wanted it to be special and had an idea about how she wanted it. For now though, she started eating and looked around to make her now almost daily observations.

As she had promised to herself, she had kept an eye on all the Weasley children in Hogwarts. She had staged a random meet with Percy in the library, where she asked him about OWLs and other academic topics, while she lightly touched his mind with Legilimency. On finding nothing out of order in his surface thoughts, she had tentatively prodded into his mind and had confirmed her suspicion that he wasn't the one carrying the diary.

That had left the twins and Ginerva, with the only Weasley girl as the prime suspect. The girl was quite and would look away whenever Helen would look her way, creating further suspicion in Helen's mind. She was almost certain it wasn't the twins as change in either one would have been immediately noticed by the other. She wonder soon make sure about them and then focus on the real culprit or rather victim.

She knew for certain it wasn't Ronald, based on his idiotic behavior throughout this month. Helen had hoped that crashing a car into Whimping Willow and landing his parents in trouble might have straightened him out but he had immediately proven her hopes false, as only after a few days of the car incident, he had started bothering her again, about being dark and how she should become his friend, while he guided her back to 'light'.

In fact, she saw him approaching her right now, with the new Griffindor Seeker, Dean Thomas and another of their dorm-mate Seamus Finnigan in tow. As soon as he was within a few feet of her, he started sprouting his usual tirade of her being dark and evil, which she ignored as usual. However, this time he started targeting her Slytherin friends, with whom she was currently sitting and started called deriding Daphne, Tracey and Blaise, causing Helen's temper to flare.

She spoke in a low controlled tone, without looking up from her plate, "You should be careful with your words, Weasley. And watch where you speak them. _"

He looked around at the hostile looks he was getting from rest of the Green and Silver House, and for a change, did the smart thing to stop targeting the Slytherin second years. However, instead of leaving, he again rounded up at Helen, this time going on about her clothings.

Since it was the weekend and was still warm enough, Helen had opted to wear a pair of skin tight black jeans and a lopsided crop top which left one of her shoulder bare and displayed a few inches of her abdomen and waist.

He raved furiously "Why do you dress like that? Your parents would be ashamed of you. You have been corrupted by those around you. And now you dress like a... like a... Scarlet Woman!"

Helen lost her control then. She had been feeling light and relieved today after a long time and he had to come and ruin it for her. She was pissed and enraged. Who the fuck does he think he was, to judge her? She whipped out her wand and sent him crashing into the wall behind, where he banged his head, slid down and did not move further.

"Miss Potter!" McGonagall's voice loomed, as she quickly approached the scene and started checking on the fallen boy, "We do not tolerate violent behavior in Hogwarts, even if it is provoked." At Helen's surprised look, she continued, "Yes, I'm aware that Mr. Weasley here provoked you by using several derogatory comments. In fact, I was already approaching to reprehend him when you acted. However, that does not allow you take violent actions against fellow students. You should have continued to ignore him and should have approached a prefect or a teacher with a complaint about his actions."

She directed a nearby prefect to take Weasley, who seemed to have a concussion, to the Hospital wing and turned to Helen. "Now, Mr. Weasley will be disciplined when he is conscious again. For your actions, though, let's see, 30 points from Ravenclaw and a Detention. You've been given a light punishment due to the fact that you were provoked, however, any more violence, provoked or not, will be meet with a far more severe penalty. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Professor." Helen replied with a bowed head. She really should have had better control over her emotions. She guessed the constant worry about the diary, her extremely packed schedule with all her extra work, and her sexual frustration had finally come to boil. Even the little relief she had in the morning wasn't enough and she should lighten up or else she might snap again sometime.

* * *

**AN: Please R&R.**

**A few of you have asked about Luna. I like Luna quite a bit as a character however there are a few problems. First, I'm finding it difficult to write her quirky nature. Second, Helen is not a charitable person, and I can't let her use Luna like she would do if I wasn't controlling her ;)**

**So, in this story she will play only a minor role. She will be present but she will be sidelined and will have very less screen time so to speak.**

**Next topic: Relationships**

**I'm planning on 2 or max 3 actual relationships for Helen, all of whom I've hinted very heavily. But she will have a lot more bed partners, to satisfy her needs as a consequence of her modified ritual, like in this chapter. Mostly will be male, but a few would be female so there will be some Fem!slash in future.**

**Next, Helen might have been alive for only 12 years, but that is not her age mentally or physically. Mentally, she is much much older due to LV's soul being incorporated into her and physically she's about 14 and growing much faster then normal.**

**Lastly, something about me. I don't remember if I've mentioned it before, I'm a girl. Yes, get over it. And stop calling me dude! :D**

**I'm in my 20s, and live in UK. I work in management of a firm, so there will be times when the updates will have long intervals and might be disjointed.**

**Now, some flames are going on and on about ethics and morals,let me tell you that 13-14 yrs old teens are sexually active in these parts, I should know as I was too. ****I'm not promoting underage sex, but I'm saying that everyone's choice is their own. No one forced me to do the stuff I did when I was that age, I did them because I liked it, and didn't feel anything wrong about it at that time or now.**

**A lot of lemons in this fic will have something real it was based on. So, stop b*tching about it if you want to read or simply close the tab (Which you should have done at the starting of the first chapter while reading the disclaimer. So who should be ashamed really, hmm?)**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**Warning: This chapter has a non-con section in it**

* * *

Helen had followed her own suggestion and had stopped worrying about everything and everyone, and didn't let anyone bother her anymore. She even let her advanced knowledge show during classes, earning approval and respect from the teachers. She let Morag and Robert work and decide strategies for their Quidditch practices whereas up till now she was also actively participating in it. She had stopped keeping an eye on the Weasley's too, as it was too much a bother and she would have to wait and watch either ways for something to happen. She already knew it was the Weasley girl she had to look out for so all she had to do was wait for Tom Riddle to make the first move.

Most of her time was spent on her enchanting and potions studies these days. She had tested her two-way mirror with Padma and while they worked fine she wasn't satisfied with their limitations and had started working on a different schematic to allow multiple channels to work at the same time. Instead of working on the mobile devices i.e. the mirrors, she started working on a central hub though which all the communications will be connected.

She had been working on it for a month now and while she believed that she had achieved success there were a few issues. So far she had managed to device a central rune structure to function as a central communications hub and had used multiple materials as the base to varying degrees of success.

First she had used gems but they been an utter failure due to the rigidity of their molecular structure. Next she had tried metals but they ended at the opposite end of the spectrum as while they worked fine for a few moments, they ended up melting as she increased the number of comms channels.

After experimenting a lot she realized that the ideal material for the hub would have to be a good conductor which could still mention its form under increased magical load. So, it had to be itself magically inert but allow magic to channel or conduct though it. The closest thing which met such requirements were the wands, however, even they weren't completely magically inert as using a wand continuously over a long period of time could burn it out. In fact, there had been documented cases of such instances.

So, for now she was stuck due to limitations of nature and material. She thought of making a staff for her purposes but rejected the idea as they would also eventually burn out under the enormous load of communications. They could work for a small closed network of mirrors though, something to think on later.

XXXXX

Lockhart had decided to take over her detention, which Helen guessed he was going to use as an excuse to make better connection with her. She had already met him once where he had subtly hinted to form a closer rapport with her so that their combined fame would catapult them firmly into the elite social circle of magical Britain and on the world stage as well. She had given positive indications without agreeing with him outright and had flirted a bit as well whenever he had made a suggestive comment.

Her detention was after the last class on Friday so she could wear anything she wanted. She decided for a smart form-fitting sleeveless black blouse with a beige A-line skirt that ended just above her knees. She left her hair open in waves falling over her back and only applied light make-up, just a dark green eyeliner to highlight the color of her eyes and a colorless lip gloss to make her lips shine. Judging that she was presentable enough of a evening of socialization... ahem, Detention, she donned on a plain black ankle length robe over her outfit and made her way to DADA office.

Lockhart admitted her inside a few seconds after she knocked.

"Ah, Helen, heard you got in a spot of trouble", Lockhart said somewhat tiredly, probably due to having classes all day.

He continued as they entered his office proper, "Do you mind if we take this into the living quarters? I am a bit beaten after classes all day and would like a cup of tea while we discuss your punishment" winking at his last word.

Helen gave a smile as she replied affirmative. He then lead them to his living quarters through a side door and they entered into a living room with elegant decorations and beautiful furniture to match. Helen could see Lockhart's influence all over the place as she was sure that all that stuff surely did not come from the school. The walls and woodwork were cream in color while the curtains, rugs and all the other soft surfaces like the armchairs and sofa were in Egyptian blue, a nod to his Ravenclaw affiliation.

Lockhart told her to make herself comfortable and she settled on the sofa after shrugging off her robe, crossing her legs at a slight angle with her hands resting on knees. He himself sat casually in one of the armchair across the coffee table.

She saw his eyes subtly checking her legs and the formfitting blouse for a second before he called his house-elf and ordered tea for both of them. As they waited for the beverages he started addressing her.

"I heard what happened with the youngest Mr Weasley. Quite an annoying boy, isn't he?" he said with a raised eyebrow and a playful smirk. Helen gave a sheepish smile.

"You see we, as famous as we are, tend to attract all sorts of people. Most of them are nice and genuinely just want to meet their idle or be awed by our presence. Some might want an autograph or a picture to remember the highlight of meeting their star and or gloat over their peers. Those are the kind of people that are easy and pleasant to deal with."

He paused as a couple of cups applied on the coffee table filled with dark liquid along with a plate full of assorted snacks to go with the tea. He indicated her indulge herself and picked his cup from the saucer taking a sip, and sighed as he relaxed into the armchair. Helen took a sip as well and detected a spicy flavor. She guessed the tea was on Asian variety probably Indian or Malayan.

After a couple of sips Lockhart continued, "However, not all the people are kind and well-meaning. Some want to use you for their own benefit, while some want to associate with you so that they themselves could enter the limelight. Then there are some who want to bring you down and tarnish your reputation. Now, I'll tell you how to deal with all the types and how to avoid confrontations with the foul, loud mouthed types."

For the next half an hour he talked about tricks and tactics to deal with all kinds of people and gave her tips on how to handle the especially tricky one. Helen was surprised that she actually found his words useful and listened to him carefully.

Once he was done, he got up and summoned a role of parchment, a quill and an ink-pot and placed them in front of her and instructed her to write a summary of what they had discussed. "After all, this is a detention" and left her alone to work on the essay.

Half an hour later, Helen heard him enter the room again and felt him lean over her shoulder to look at her work. He smelt nice and fresh as if he had just come out of a shower.

XXXXX

Lockhart came around the sofa and joined her on it, sitting in the center to look at her essay. For the next five minutes they discussed the essay and he praised her on her good grasp of the topic.

After that was done, he banished the writing material and shifted slightly to turn towards her so that their knees touch and look at the beautiful girl directly, making sure that his wand remained out of sight in his right hand, hidden by his legs.

With a smile that he knew presented his face the best he said, "It seems you have learned quite a bit from me in just a short time."

He lowered his left arm, which had been lying on the back of the sofa, to her shoulder, placing his fingers on her bare left shoulder.

"Now imagine what all you could learn from me over a longer period of association."

She had tensed immediately at the skin to skin contact but she relaxed fairly quickly, which he guessed was the effect of the inhibition loosening potion he had spiked her tea with. She breathed deeply as her eyes quickly wandered over his body, probably checking him out. He had deliberately worn a loose white linen shirt with laced deep neck, which was loose, showing with chiseled chest and a tight leather pant which left nothing to imagination.

He brought his right hand, still holding his wand, to rest over his right thigh, drawing her eyes to the tight material. She took another deep breath, and incidentally took another whiff of the mild love potion based cologne he was wearing, and looked into his eyes.

Her eyes were dark, filled with passion, displaying that she was ready to dance at his whim. He brought his right hand over to her bare right thigh and rubbed the smooth skin softly with his thumb.

His lips curved into a smirk, which he knew girls found sexy and sinful and asked in a deep voice, "So, do you want to be associated with me?" as if her reply mattered.

She replied something in a whisper, but it didn't matter anyways and he leaned in to capture those sweet lips with his own. And sweet they were, sweet and soft and ... unmoving? He guessed that she probably didn't actually knew how to kiss so he demonstrated it to her by pulling her closer to him and started moving his own lips, pushing his tongue to pry her mouth open.

Finally, she started kissing him back and put her hand on his chest to support herself. After a minute on sideways make-out which didn't allow him to explore her body properly, he pulled her on top of him with her legs on either side of his and his hardness pressing directly at her core, while still attached at the lips. As his tongue continued to explore her mouth, his left hand started doing the same with her body.

He marveled at the smooth texture of her thigh as his hand traced the warm skin under her skirt upto the edge of her panties. She seemed to enjoy that based on the slight tightening of her fingers in his hair.

He waved his wand and banished her clothes leaving her in a lacy black bra through which he could see her nipples and a minuscule panties. He took a moment to appreciate the marvelous sight and commented with a victorious smirk, "You came prepared, I see."

He started pawing her breasts then as they resumed kissing and soon removed the flimsy lace, leaving her only in her panties. He waved his wand once more and divested himself of all his clothes, leaving her sitting on his hardness.

Slowly but firmly he started pushing her downwards with his hand on her neck. She traced the path downwards with kisses and nibbles all over his neck, chest and stomach. But finally after a long delay she reached the place he really wanted her at.

Slowly she took him in her small warm hands and gave a tentative jerk sending small waves of pleasure through his body. But he wanted her to use her mouth so he again firmly pushed her head towards him. His intentions finally got across as she gave him a lick on the underside on his lower head.

Finally she took him in her mouth and sucked his head causing him to moan in pleasure. She continued to do so without his prompt so he moved his hand back to her breasts to fondle and squeeze the supple mounds.

After a while though she didn't progress to take more on him inside her mouth so he dropped his wand, deeming it unnecessary now and pressed her head down, forcing her to take more of him inside and throw his head back as pleasure coursed through his body.

XXXXX

Helen had started to panic slightly now, as he had yet to let go of his wand. While she could attack him wandlessly, normal spells were much weaker that way and if she failed he still had a drop on her and will only need a moment to have her completely under her control.

She had been playing along because she knew he was a renowned dueler and till he had his wand in his hand, she couldn't act. She had been delaying since the start of the encounter by playing the innocent girl card all the while employing Occlumency to keep control of her emotions and keep an eye on his wand. She was slightly rattled when he had pulled her on his lap and again when he had removed most of her clothes. Her shields had finally wavered when he had removed his clothes.

Knowing where this was heading had filled her with dread, especially when he started forcing her downwards. So she had been imagining her retribution to keep herself under control while letting her body be on auto-control. She had again delayed by kissing and biting him on the way down in the hopes of making him drop his wand but to no avail.

She finally took his equipment in her mouth, which she in her occluded state judged to be quite impressive, thinking that if he didn't let go his wand after this, she would have to resort on elemental magic and hope that he was distracted enough for her to gain an upper hand before he could react.

Her chance came as he finally dropped his wand to push her head down on him. She unconsciously relaxed her throat to avoid gagging as her hand subtly crept to her calf to her hidden secondary wand, her main one lying uselessly in her robe's pocket. It was difficult to reach for a wand on stashed on calf while kneeling between his legs without letting him know.

As he threw his head back in pleasure, she pulled out the wand and struck with a non-verbal Stupefy, rendering him unconscious. She released him from her mouth and shakily stood up to look down at the unconscious man. She shot another Stupefy at him, this time verbally, to be sure and then promptly collapsed on the coffee table and curled into herself, finally letting go her emotion from their occluded cage.

She hyperventilated for several minutes after an emotional ordeal and what she just avoided. After several minutes her tears started drying up (when did that happen?) as other emotion took over, those of anger and fury.

She got up and cast several _Scourgify_ on herself and turned to Lockhart. He had gone soft and his head was still thrown back, now hanging over the back on the sofa. She bound his hands separately, each extending to his either side, by transfiguring the arm rests to have ropes coming out of them. Then as an extra precaution she stuck them to sofa with a sticking spell. Next his legs were treated the same and he was finally in a kind of spread eagle form but while sitting. As a finishing touch she conjured a ball gag and fixed it in his mouth.

Satisfied with the setup she pointed her wand at his softness and didn't bother with a _rennervate_ and instead snarled "_Crucio_"

He jumped up with a scream or at least would have if he wasn't tied down and gagged. She kept the spell going and took satisfaction in his torturous struggles and muffled howls. She kept the spell on him for a minute before letting up.

One effect of the Cruciatus curse, apart from the obvious torturous pain all over the body, was that it fired up all the nerves at the impact area. So after a minute of holding the curse, Lockhart had become hard again, despite the torture.

"You thought you could force yourself on me?" She snarled shrilly, "That you could Rape me? You pathetic bastard!"

Remembering Fawley's reaction from last year, she pointed her wand again at his hardness and slowly made cuts on the sensitive head, while Lockhart tried to shriek around his gag. After several cuts she put down her wand and punched the man in his gut, causing him to try to double over against the binds. She followed that with a few punches to his face turning his handsome face into a mess of bruises and cracked skin.

When she realized that she had accidentally knocked him out she 'rennervated' him with another Crucio. Before continuing her retribution she pointed her wand at his face and coldly uttered "_Legilimens_".

She had expected him to have formidable shields, but encountered only very basic defense, which was already shattered from the torture. Slightly surprised, she plunged into his mind to discover his secrets and weaknesses. And secrets, she found, when she discovered the truth behind his endeavors. Which turned out to not be his endeavors at all, but of other people who he had obliviated after coercing out the details.

He had been smart tough and had covered his tracks by actually going to the places and leaving evidences of his presence there, in case someone checks them out. He had also altered the memories of various people who had come in contact with the original person. Afterwards he had practiced all the spells that were used in various encounters, which actually made him slightly competent and had carefully edited his books so that there was no date overlaps and such. It was by that practice that he had become a decent enough dueler.

She also discovered that he had actually tired to potion her, which had failed because of the rituals she had performed or else by now he would have had her and probably with her potion-ed consent. This caused her blood to boil in anger and she gave him another round of Cruciatus while yelling profanities at him and a few bone breakers on his ribs.

She again entered his mind and discovered that she wasn't his first victim and that he had been doing the same act for years now. Most of the time potions worked and the girl would comply to his 'suggestions'. But sometimes the girl in question resisted the potions, so he would force himself on her with use of binding spells and immobilization spells. Afterwards he would Obliviate his victims and move on to the next target.

She plundered his mind more violently after that and discovered all his secrets, weaknesses, details about his wealth, details of his social contacts and everything else that was useful. She came out of his mind feeling particularly vicious and continued his torture with liberal use of bone breaking curses, cutting curses and fire whips as well as several dark curses which were designed for torture without breaking the victim's mind, unlike the Cruciatus.

After an hour of continuous work, Helen finally stopped, satisfied for now. Lockhart was lying unconscious with the sofa soaked in his blood, bruises, welts, cuts and burn marks decorating his body, several of his ribs broken and his right shoulder dislocated.

She absently cleared herself of blood, which she had gotten while cutting him up with a conjured knife and summoned a few medicinal potions he kept, all the while thinking up the plan to use him and his resources for her benefit. She had already decided to keep him alive for now, as he was more useful to her alive then dead.

Since she did not want his injuries to show, she forced a couple of blood replenishing potions down his throat and healed his cuts. Next she set shoulder right as well as his broken bones in the right place roughly and forced a whole bottle of skele-gro down his throat. Next she healed all the bruises and other marks that would be visible during a normal day, but left all the rest unattended.

She immobilized him with a '_Petrificus Totalus_' after setting his head upright, conjured a stool in front of him and placed herself on it. She rennervated him, this time with proper spell and immediately entered his mind while he was still in a drowsy semi-conscious state. She started implementing suggestions in his mind, which normally would be a very difficult task, but since she had already broken his mind somewhat, it was an simpler task. Simpler, but not easy as the mind was quite complex, and thus she took her time to carefully implant the right thoughts, suggestions and triggers.

She was going to make him her slave, while he kept his public persona same as before. By the time she was done, he would live only to please her and do his utmost to follow her every whim.

Most of what she wanted could have been easily done with the imperious curse but it could be resisted or overcome by strong mental fortitude, not that Lockhart had any, or broken due to external influences. Also, the goblins could detect the curse and she planned on him going to the goblins very soon. So, she was going to use legilimency, pain and pleasure conditioning (stick and carrot approach) as well as aura manipulation to turn him into her slave. It would take almost a week of daily work and she would actually have to get him off a few times as a 'reward', but she would do the unpleasant activity as the final result would be greatly satisfying.

Once done, she levitated and deposited him on his bed, and returned to the living room. After getting dressed she left, planning to have a long hot bath to scrub herself clean.

XXXXX

Helen came out of his mind satisfied at finally having him completely under her control after over a week's worth of work. He was kneeling in front of her, as she sat in his armchair, still in her uniform.

"What a tiring day it has been, my feet hurt." She casually commented. Lockhart immediately lunged forward to take her feet in his hands, but stopped just before touching and looking at her with imploring eyes, seeking permission. She gave him a nod, internally satisfied.

He immediately took her right foot in careful hands, slowly removed the heels and socks she was wearing and started giving her a foot massage. After a few minutes he gave her left foot the same treatment. Helen thoroughly enjoyed both the massage as well as satisfaction of job well done in enslaving the man.

Wanting to humiliate him further, she ordered him to lick her feet clean and he did so with a smile on his face. As a reward she let him caress her calves for a while as she relaxed while enjoying the pleasant sensation.

"I want you to go to Gringotts as soon as possible and funnel your wealth into the reconstruction on the Potter Manor. However, be discreet about it. Am I understood?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, mistress." Lockhart replied with a bowed hurt, still kneeling before her.

"Next, I want to use your contacts to get an invite to this year's ministry Yule ball and you will RSVP with me as your plus one."

"Yes, mistress. Thank you, mistress." He replied with a happy smile on his face, which reminded her of a dog who had just been praised by its master.

"There you will introduce me to all your important contacts as well as to all the members of Wizengamot that you know personally. Do that well and I will reward you beyond your dreams, slave."

He nodded eagerly with hope in his eyes and she left him to his own devices.

XXXXX

Halloween was approaching and the weather had taken a turn for worse. The skies were heavy with clouds and they had regular showers throughout the week. Helen had maintained her routine though of getting up early to workout and practice magic. This morning was different though.

On her way to the RoR she found a girl, first year by the looks of it, curled up in an alcove near the entrance of Ravenclaw tower. On closer inspection, she found that it was Luna Lovegood, the seer first year girl, one she had vowed to look out for but had forgotten due all that has been happening in her life. She looked as the girl shivered and tried to curl further into herself to protect from the cold. All she was wearing was a flimsy nightie which gave her no protection whatsoever from the elements.

Helen gently shook the girl up, feeling a bit guilty and determined to help her out. Luna work up slowly and looked at her with tired eyes.

"Good morning, are you going to practice magic?" She asked, as if it was normal for her to sleep on floor out in open in cold weather and to know about the secret schedule that Helen followed.

Helen shook her head at the absurdity of the situation and replied with a kind smile, "Not anymore, now I'm going to take you back to Ravenclaw tower. What were you doing out here anyways?" she asked gently as she helped the girl up and wrapped her robe around her.

Luna replied in a quirky voice, "Oh, the nargles pulled me out of my bed and them locked me out of the tower. They are pranksters you see, the nargles. They like to play jokes on people."

"Uh-huh." Helen replied distractedly, as she tried to translate her words to normal speech. It seems that someone or someones was bullying Luna. Something she had anticipated but not acted on. Some of them had to be her year-mates, but at least one of the tormentor had to be senior to block the entry of the tower. Her mind immediately went to Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's friend and her fellow 3rd year, as she was the type to do such acts.

She guided Luna back inside the tower and to her own Oval, instead of the first year one. There she pulled the sofa as close to fire-place as possible safely, and laid the tired girl on it, covering her up with a summoned blanket. She then sang her back to sleep while still holding her in her arms. Once she was sure that Luna was asleep she carefully detached herself from the girl and made her way to the third year oval after applying Disillusionment Charm on herself.

She found Marietta room and quietly entered inside to find the said girl asleep. After sealing and sound-proofing the door she turned to her and quickly petrified her followed by a rennervate and a legilimens. She found that Marietta indeed was the instigator and had two first year girls as accomplices. She went to work and emerged from the room fifteen minutes later having applied a conditioning in the girl's mind similar to what she did to Lockhart but on much smaller scale and with a very specific trigger. Now, whenever Marietta so much as thought ill will towards Luna, she would remember feeling extreme pain coursing through her body and would feel dread that it was going to happen soon again. Helen went straight to the first year oval and both the girls were given the same treatment.

Satisfied that this will keep Luna safe for now, she went back to her oval and relaxed next to the said girl, who immediately shifted and laid her head in her lap.

That morning the second year Ravenclaw were treated to a rare sight of Helen Potter asleep. Even stranger was the fact that a first year girl was sleeping with her head in her lap and her arms around Helen, who in turn had her own curled protectively around the little waif of the girl.

At breakfast, Helen was seen intensely discussing something with her biggest fan Colin Creevey, who had a determined expression on his face. He gave a firm nod after the discussion and Helen planted a kiss on his check, causing him to blush and passed him a small square object. From that day onwards Colin rarely followed Helen, instead he could always be found in the close proximity of Luna Lovegood, the whimsical first year Ravenclaw.

XXXXX

Halloween evening saw every student in Hogwarts enjoying the grand feast at the great hall. Helen had made sure that Hermione was present in the hall this time around. The house elves had out done themselves and Helen, who usually was very particular about her diet, was also indulging herself on the vast spread on greasy but mouth-watering food.

After the meal the second year Ravenclaws started making their way up to their tower to relax and enjoy the festival. However, they were barely out of the double doors, when Helen heard a voice

"... rip ... tear ... kill ..."

Blood drained from her face as she immediately recognized the voice. A part of her mind scolded herself for not predicting what the dairy version of Tom's soul was going to do. She should have realized it sooner that he would obviously go for that damned overgrown snake, as from his perspective he had visited her only a few days ago.

But most of her mind was worried and she looked frantically around to find her muggleborn friend. Helen found Hermione just exiting the great hall and immediately yanked at her arm, keeping her close but slightly behind her. The girl was confused, but wisely didn't question her and silently followed her. Padma who had also noticed her reaction smartly realized something was wrong and had slipped her wand in her hand.

The voice seemed to grow fainter as it was moving upward the same way the rest of her friends were going, so she followed them immediately on the grand marble staircase slipping her own wand in her hand. As she reached the first floor, distantly, from the floor above, and growing fainter still, he heard the voice: "... I smell blood... I SMELL BLOOD!"

Fuck! she thought and carefully but quickly made her way up, reaching the second floor before the rest of the group. She peaked around the corner towards the girls' lavatory where she knew the entrance of the Chamber was hidden.

Something was shining on the wall ahead. She approached slowly on the wet floor and saw a dark shape hanging underneath the Foot-high words that had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches.

Realizing it was a cat and that the danger was probably past, she withdrew her wand and gestured Padma to do so as well. They were quickly joined by the rest of Ravenclaws and the Griffindor who were also ascending to their own tower.

Lisa finally asked what was in everyone's mind, "What does that mean?"

She was of course referring to the words written in blood, "The Chamber of secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware."

"What's going on here? Why aren't you moving?" Argus Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw the cat and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.

He turned to Ron, who had stepped closer to look at the cat.

"You!" he screeched. "You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll -"

"Argus!"

Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Helen's group, and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch.

Helen flicked her eyes towards Lockhart and gave him a subtle nod towards Dumbledore. He immediately stepped forward eagerly, "My office is nearest, Headmaster - please feel free -"

"Thank you, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore.

The silent crowd parted to let them pass. Lockhart hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall and Snape, after they ordered the crowd to disperse. Helen quickly started moving and dragged Hermione with her.

Back in their common room, everyone was gathered talking excitedly about what had happened. Helen didn't pay any mind to it and quietly went upstairs to her room with Hermione and Padma in tow. Back in her room, she collapsed on the bed, while Hermione sat on corner of the bed with Padma occupying the chair. Both of them turned to her and Hermione finally asked, "Explain."

Helen looked and them for a moment, sighed and sat up pulling her knees to herself.

"Padma already knows this and I'm going to tell you as well, Hermione, but first I need a promise that you will not reveal this to anyone." She looked at the Griffindor who gave a tentative nod.

Helen continued to look at her for a moment before sighing again and swung her legs down, "I'm a Parselmouth." she said as she started taking off her heels.

Hermione, to her credit, took it quite well and only replied with an "Oh."

"So, as we were exiting the great hall, I heard a voice" she started rolling down her stockings, "a voice of a snake, a huge snake." she got up and put the stocking rolls in the laundry bin and her heels in her show rack in the wardrobe, "It was hungry and it wanted to kill."

She shrug off her robe and tie and chucked them in the laundry bin as well, "Legend has it that Slytherin had hid a monstrous creature in Hogwarts after his arguments with the other founders" she started working on the button of her shirt, "whose sole purpose was to cleanse the school of those with un-pure blood," as she threw the shirt away she looked pointedly at Hermione, "Muggleborn."

She unzipped her skirt and slid it down, "According to the same legend, he hid it in a secret place he created within the castle," she turned around and unhooked her bra, which joined the rest of the cloth pile, glancing back over the shoulder, she said, "The Chamber of Secrets."

She rummaged in the wardrobe and pulled out a wine red night dress, "Most believed that it was just a rumor as there had been no proof of any such chamber," she donned the dress which didn't even reach her mid-thigh and finally turned around "until it was opened roughly fifty years ago, and a muggleborn student died."

She joined Hermione, who couldn't decide whether to blush or to be scared, on the bed. It seems her little striptease wasn't quite enough to completely distract the intelligent girl.

"Now, based on all the evidence like me hearing snake voices and a student dying without a mark on them as well as the fact that this is Slytherin we are talking about, the identity of the monster is quite obvious." Helen said, waiting for either of the girl to finally get it.

Padma didn't disappoint as blood drained her face and she whispered "Basilisk."

"Yes, the king of snakes, and a huge one probably, judging by its voice as well as its approximate age of a thousand year. Basilisk never stop growing, have the most lethal venom in the world and can kill with just one look in its eyes."

Hermione was growing fainter and fainter by every word, as Helen continued, "It is considered to be one of the most dangerous creature on earth with only Nundu its better. And even that's arguable as Basilisk can kill from a long distance away with its eyes."

"Now, there are two ways to avoid death by its eyes. First, be a parselmouth. Now, that is not something one can become easily. In fact, if one is not born as one its extremely difficult to become one. However, the second option is a much simpler, at least in theory, just don't look directly in its eyes. I don't know what happens when one looks at the reflection though, they might get a nosebleed or something..." Helen knew she was rambling by this point, but she couldn't stop as she was worried and focusing on Basilisk facts was distracting her from the fact that they had one roaming around the castle.

Once she calmed down a bit she got up, pulled out another of her nightdress and tossed it in Hermione's lap "You are sleeping here from now onwards."

As Hermione opened her mouth to protest, she ordered "No arguments." and Hermione meekly agreed.

Later that night, once Hermione was safely tucked in her arms, she formulated her plan. She had already secured the only muggleborn she really cared about... she thought of Colin for a second, and realized that she liked having him around as well, so she decided to give him a subtle warning as well. But regardless, she was not going to take any action yet. Tomorrow she will check Lockhart's memory to find about Dumbledore's reaction and then she will wait and watch. She will keep an eye on Ginny Weasley from a distance but that's it. Who knows, this might harm Dumbledore's reputation and then she could easily take care of the diary herself.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers**

**AN2: Still looking for a beta. Interested parties please PM.**

* * *

Next day Helen got the answer to the question of what happens when one looks at the reflection of Basilisk eyes. Apparently Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, was not dead, but was instead petrified. Lockhart had deliberately made a fool of himself to get as much information out of Dumbledore as possible. It was the reason she was letting him give her a shoulder and arm massage right now, after giving him a dose of Cruciatus, of course. Turns out the Petrification can only be reversed using a Mandrake Restorative Draught which could only be made using fully mature Mandrakes. Dumbledore didn't know who the instigator was nor did he know how the attack was carried out. Helen believed the first part but refused to believe that Dumbledore didn't know about the Basilisk.

What he was playing at, she didn't know, especially with growing their own Mandrakes, which meant that the draught couldn't even be started for over half a year from now. It also meant that he was suppressing the information from spreading out. Ulterior motive or just trying to protect his reputation? Helen thought the latter, but she couldn't be sure.

But for now, this didn't change her plan. She still intended to wait and watch from distance. She already had Hermione out of Griffindor's girls dormitory where the real instigator resided. She had put a detection ward at the entrance of her oval which would notify her as soon as someone not already authorized entered her dominion.

The Quidditch season was beginning soon and Robert had started torturing them with almost daily grueling training seasons. Thus the massage she was receiving right now. She wanted to have more but was still slightly uncomfortable with Lockhart's presence despite having him completely under her control. Maybe she would indulge after her first match.

Speaking of first match, the first match of the season, Griffs vs snakes was going to happen in a few days and they wanted to analyze the performance of the new Nimbus broom, which the whole Slytherin team would be sporting. Her team mates had guessed that both the teams would be on different strategies as the Griffs would try to prolong the game to score as many goals as possible whereas the Slytherins would go with an aggressive in-your-face gameplay to both break Griffs momentum and to allow Draco some breathing room to quickly catch the snitch by keeping the attention of the opposition beaters on the rest of the players.

Deciding that she was relaxed enough now, she got up, whipped Lockhart's chest with a fire whip, patted his head and left for dinner. During dinner Luna joined her and thus Colin joined them as well. She called Hermione to join her too and soon they were chatting away while having delicious food.

XXXXX

Their prediction was correct and the first game of the season panned out exactly as they thought. Griffindors chaser line-up came forward wave after wave, scoring plenty of goals. The Slytherins tried to break up play by any means possible and went on a quick counter whenever opportunity arrived, scoring several goals themselves utilizing their superior speed. This led to the Weasley twins focus completely on protecting the foxes, as the three chasers were dubbed by the commentator, which left Malfoy completely free to find and catch the Snitch easily using his much faster broom. The final score was 220-130 in favor of Slytherin.

They, however, did learn a lot about the new Nimbus broom from that match. While the broom was certainly very fast it had an inherent flaw. Due to its slightly longer shape, it was much more difficult to maneuver into a different direction and it was downright impossible to make continuous tight turns on it. This actually made it a poor broom for seeker position especially when the Snitch was trying its best to evade. Malfoy got lucky in this match as the Snitch flew in a straight line this time around, but would find it difficult to catch one in any other scenario.

They started practicing for longer hours after the match intending to win by a huge margin so as to carry a big lead right from the start. Helen had started her usual flirting with Cedric to make him spill their team strategy, despite the fact that it wasn't needed as they already knew that the only way Hufflepuff win this game was if Cedric catch the Snitch early in the match. Nonetheless, they had fun together and Helen even squeezed out a wager from him. If he caught the Snitch, she would spend a whole weekend wearing Hufflepuff colors and will have all the meals at Hufflepuff table during that weekend. If Helen caught the Snitch, Cedric would do the same but with Ravenclaw colors.

The matchday arrived and the game started with a blistering pace from the Ravenclaw chaser trio. Their strategy was somewhat similar to that of Griffindor's but for an altogether different reason. Within fifteen minutes they had established a 60-0 lead, with Morag scoring four of their goals. The hufflepuff were trying to block Helen whenever she went for a dive, and she realized their plan was to give Cedric the opportunity to find the Snitch unhindered as quickly as possible by blocking her moves.

She turned their plan on head by making several feints and pulling almost all of their players with her, leaving rest of her team free reign on the opposition goal. Soon, after a little after the 30 minute mark they have already established a 160-0 lead, making the Snitch catch redundant to the result.

At this point there was a timeout called when a Bludger seemed to be targeting only Helen. Madam Hooch quickly determined it was jinxed and had it replaced and the match restarted.

From this point onwards, Helen changed her strategy and started to closely mark Cedric. The Snitch finally showed up 20 minutes later, where both the Seekers gave chase. Cedric actually had a better chance to catch the Snitch until a mishit from one of his Beaters caused him to take a Bludger on his shoulder and caused him to waver from his path and Helen took the opportunity to snatch the Snitch. Ravenclaw ended up winning the match 360-10 taking a huge 260 points lead over the second place team Slytherin.

XXXXX

Later that evening, Helen was alone relaxing in a bath in the Room of Requirement, when she was disturbed by a pop. She immediately had her wand pointed at the source, still a bit jumpy from the Lockhart's Detention, when she realized it was only Dobby. Relaxing back under the bubbles, she asked the little guy, "Hello Dobby, What are you doing here?"

"Great Helen Potter lied to Dobby! She said she wouldn't go to Hogwarts, but she is here!" Dubby cried desperately.

Thinking quickly, Helen replied, "Well, Dobby, I wasn't going to come, but then I researched a bit about the plot and found out what it really was. You see the plot was about a monster being released in Hogwarts. I was quite relieved when I found out about this monster. That is because, even if it wanted to, this monster cannot harm me. Its just not possible."

OK so she may be fibbing a bit, as the Basilisk poison could certainly kill her, despite her rituals, but because of them it would take a bit longer, enough for her to summon or reach her hidden stash of rare ingredients, which had a small vial containing Phoenix tears.

"So Helen Potter wasn't in danger" Dobby asked in a trembling voice.

"Well, not from the monster at least." Helen replied.

Dobby let out a wail and started banged his head on the lip of the bathtub, saying "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!" over and over again. Bewildered, Helen quickly snatched him up by the scruff and held him close so he couldn't harm himself. As he tried to punch himself in his face, she ordered "Dobby stop!"

He stopped and went limp hanging from her hand and started sobbing.

"Why did you try to punish yourself this time?"

In between the sobbing and sniffling she made a few words, 'jinx' and 'Bludger' being two of them and understood what had happened. At first she was annoyed, but then got contemplative as she thought how to solve this issue. After thinking on it for a while, she got an idea and got up to act on it, ignoring Dobby who was now covering his eyes to 'protect Great Helen Potter's modesty'.

Later that night, the Malfoy family elf popped in Hogwarts again, this time in the Slytherin boy's dormitory when he heard Young Master Malfoy calling him, who immediately gave him a handkerchief, saying the words "You are no longer a Malfoy Elf."

Dobby never noticed how Younger Master's, now Ex-Young Master's, voice was a bit monotone or how his eyed had a glassy look to them, as he was busy gazing at the Handkerchief as if it was the Holy Grail. So distracted he was that he didn't even hear a whispered 'Obliviate' from behind Ex-Young Master.

Dobby popped in Hogwarts for the third time that night, when he heard Great Helen Potter calling him. Dobby's night became even better when she asked him to become her elf, though he was slightly disappointed when, after he become Great Helen Potter's elf, her first order was to never try to save her again unless she asks first.

XXXXX

Apart from Hermione, Luna had also started to hang around with the second year Ravenclaws, that meant Colin was usually there as well. They had started to hang around in the second year oval making it slightly crowded but with warm friendly environment. That weekend Cedric was also hanging with them, as per the bet he had lost last week. Helen had actually planned a picnic with him as a sort of a date, but rain had played havoc with her plans. They all had been hanging around in the Oval since the morning and now it was approaching lunch time.

They all descended to the Great hall for the lunch and the group decided to give Helen and Cedric a semblance of privacy by sitting some distance from them. Cedric was wearing a deep blue sweater over beige shirt and black slacks as per the terms of the bet and looked quite scrumptious in Helen's opinion. After lunch the rest of the group went back to the Ravenclaw tower while they both decided to explore the castle.

Cedric showed her the location of prefect's bathroom, where she commented on his intentions of getting her out of her clothes and wet, causing him to stutter and catch up to her as she skipped away. They explored some more and she showed him the Fluffy's room on the third floor. He tried to retaliate for her earlier comment, by playfully questioning the witch's intentions of leading an innocent boy to a dark abandoned room. She turned the statement on its head by leaning towards him and pecking him on his lips.

"That should clarify my intentions" she spoke huskily while looking into his eyes from under her lashes. He was awestruck, but didn't move away so she leaned into him again and kissed him properly, with her hands in his soft hair keeping him to herself. He in turn slowly wrapped his arms around her and started kissing back. For the next half an hour they exchanged kisses and sweet nothings at any isolated place they found.

They were on the first floor right now and decided it was time to return to the tower. Before moving though, Helen turned to him with a serious expression on her face, making him sub-consciously feel apprehensive.

"Before we make 'us' official, I want to discuss something with you."

"Ok" he replied carefully.

"I'm never dishonest to myself, so I know exactly who I am and what I am. What I am is not monogamous." Helen said calmly. He continued to look at her without any expression, so she continued.

"What I'm telling you is that I'll be with other people as well, apart from you. Both boys and girls." His eyes widened at that and got a far away look. Correctly assuming what he was thinking, she playfully smacked him on top of his head and said, "Focus Cedric."

He smiled sheepishly and nodded her to continue.

"I'm telling you this before we get involved because I really like you and want to be honest with you about this. If this is a deal-breaker for you, then this is your out. I'll let you go with no hard feelings involved." she finished calmly and waited for him to respond.

He continued staring at her for a while, making her think that he was going to take the out. After long he closed his eyes and sighed, leaning his head against her's.

"I like you too Helen. Too much in fact. Enough to accept you as you are. So no, you are not getting rid of me so easily. I'll like to be with you, to be your boyfriend, if that is acceptable to you." He drew back and looked into her eyes, awaiting her reply.

She didn't say anything, instead, she gave him a sweet smile and leaned in to give him the best kiss of his life. Before they left though, Cedric asked if he could join her whenever she was with a girl, earning himself another smack on the head. They finally left the abandoned classroom and started making their way back to the Ravenclaw tower while holding each other hands.

However, they didn't even make it to the stair case as right in the middle of the corridor Justin Finch-Fletchley was lying on the floor, rigid and cold, a look of shock frozen on his face, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. And that wasn't all. Next to him was another figure, the strangest sight Helen had ever seen. It was Nearly Headless Nick, the Griffindor ghost, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal, six inches off the floor. His head was half off and his face wore an expression of shock identical to Justin's.

They stood there in shock at what they were seeing when suddenly a door right next to them opened with a bang and Peeves the Poltergeist came shooting out.

"Why, it's pretty witty Potter! and Handsome Diggory!" cackled Peeves, knocking Cedric back as he bounced past him. "What are they up to? Were they kis-"

Peeves stopped, halfway through a midair somersault. Upside down, he spotted Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. He flipped the right way up, filled his lungs and screamed, "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"

Immediately rushing footsteps were heard which soon revealed to by Professor MccGonagall and a few Hufflepuff students. Soon the corridor was crowded and Professor McGonagall took control of the situation and sent everyone back to their respective common rooms.

Justin was carried up to the hospital wing by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department, but nobody seemed to know what to do for Nearly Headless Nick. In the end, Professor McGonagall conjured a large fan out of thin air, which she gave to a prefect with instructions to waft Nearly Headless Nick up the stairs.

Finally she turned to Helen and Cedric and curtly ordered them to follow her. She lead them to the Headmaster's office, gave the password to the ugly stone gargoyle and lead them up on the spiral staircase into the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk and Helen saw Professor Snape standing in a shadowy corner. Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix, was resting on a golden perch right next to the window and looked like it was nearing its burning day. They came to stop right in front of the desk and Professor McGonagall took one of the seats at the desk after turning it around to look at them.

Dumbledore was considering them, looking somber, tips of his long fingers together in front of them. He finally opened his mouth.

"I'll like to ask you both, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me," he said gently. "Anything at all."

Before Helen could reply negatively, Cedric panicked and spilled the beans on their whereabouts and their activities since lunch. All through the tale Helen felt like facepalming, especially when she noticed the amused expression on McGonagall's and Dumbledore's faces. Snape's expression was a weird combination of both a scowl and amusement.

"...and then Peeves was there making the racket, soon after which you arrived Professor McGonagall." Cedric finished and promptly blushed after noticing their expression. Dumbledore turned to her and asked gently, "Would you like to add anything, Helen?". Helen shook her head, fighting the blush that was trying to rise on her face.

"Well then, it appears that you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. You can leave then, off you go." Dumbledore waved them out. They quickly moved towards the door but before they could leave, Dumbledore gave them some parting words, "Oh, by the way, Congratulations!"

Helen lost the battle against her blush and bolted for the room, quickly followed by Cedric.

XXXXX

As the door closed behind the embarrassed teens, Snape scowl intensified, "You shouldn't congratulate them, she is too young to date!" He ignored his own voice in his head calling him 'hypocrite'.

"Well, normally, I would have agreed with you Severus, but Miss Potter seems mentally mature enough to me to decide such things on her own. And Mr Diggory is certainly not a bad choice for a partner." Minerva said.

"She could certainly do better and he's too old" he spoke barely above a whisper, trying to ignore the voice saying 'someone like you?' or 'you aren't?' in his head.

"I agree with Minerva and I think what Helen does in her private life is upto her alone. Though, I'm a bit concerned about her maturity. Her physical maturity, that is. I might be old and my eyesight might not be what it used to be, but to me Helen looked almost as old as Mr Diggory." Dumbledore stated, putting it like a question like he normally did, whenever he wanted others to tell him their opinions.

"Well, may be she's an early bloomer." Minerva replied with a shrug.

"Lily was." Snape added softly, with a longing look in his eyes, as he remembered those happier days of his life.

"Even so," Dumbledore pressed, "An early bloomer still wouldn't grow that fast. I think she may have accelerated her growth a bit using magic."

"Even if she did, what can we do about it? She didn't harm anyone or herself, as far as we know, and got through her puberty quickly." Minerva replied and then added under her breath, "Merlin knows I would have done the same if I knew how to do so then."

Dumbledore hid his amusement at that last comment, which he was sure Minerva didn't wanted to be heard. He sighed then and supposed that Minerva was right, nodding towards her. It was a harmless act and he doubted anyone, who knew any of the several methods to achieve such a thing, wouldn't use it to shorten that awkward period of their life. He himself certainly wouldn't have minded it back when he was young.

Meanwhile, Severus continued to brood as his mind kept altering the images of Lily and Helen in his head, before forcing himself to focus as the conversation shifted but to the current threat.

XXXXX

Helen and Cedric had dashed upstairs and entered a crowded common room, where rumors had already spread about what happened. After fielding questions for half an hour they finally made their way to the oval and collapsed in a love-seat. Helen then proceeded to scold Cedric about blabbing their personal details in front of three professors.

Ten minutes later where she judged he had been scolded enough, she crawled into his arms for comfort and closeness, resting her head on his chest. This was how their friends found them when they entered the room, with Luna promptly wished them Congratulations for their new relationship. This obviously led to another set of questions being flung at them and they answered these ones with much blushes on their behalf and 'aww...s' and giggles from the girls present.

Helen noticed that Hermione didn't ask any questions and neither did she participated in the girly gossip that commenced after the questions. Another person who wasn't happy was Colin who scowled at Cedric cutely whenever he thought no one was watching.

Soon after Hermione left for their bedroom while Luna engaged Colin in a game of exploding snap. Judging that Colin would be fine for now, she exchanged a significant look with Cedric and nodded towards her bedroom. A look of understanding appeared on his face and he nodded back. Helen got up and went to her room after exchanging another look, this time with Padma.

She entered without knocking and locked the door behind her. As she expected Hermione was crying in the bed, which she tried to cover up as soon as she entered. Helen joined her in the bed and took the girl in her arms and turned her around so that they were facing each other. She gently cleaned up her face and called her name.

When she didn't look at her, she gently but firmly held her face in her hands and ordered still in a gent voice, "Look at me."

Hermione looked at her with eyes that were again starting to fill up with tears. Helen then slowly leaned forward maintaining eye contact. Hermione's eye widened as soon as she realized what Helen intended to do and she stilted. Helen closed the distance and softly placed her lips on Hermione's and kissed her. She continued to kiss her for a few more seconds before pulling back to look at the girl.

Hermione had closed her eyes and her lips were slightly parted as if she was trying to imprint the kiss permanently to her memory. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Helen. There were many questions in her eyes, but before she could ask them, Helen started speaking.

"Before Cedric and I officially started our relationship we had a talk. In this talk I told him something about myself, something I'm going to tell you as well. I'm bisexual and strictly non-monogamous. I told him if he wants to date me, he will have to accept that I'll have other people in my life with whom I'll be involved as well, both boys and girls. I gave him an out with no hard feelings then, if he couldn't expect me like that. He obviously refused considering he's officially my boyfriend now." Helen looked at her and asked, "Does that answer all your questions?"

Hermione nodded meekly.

Helen continued "I've known about your attraction towards me for a while now. And I like you too as well." Hermione's eyes widened again as a blush started forming on her cheeks.

"I've been open about my attraction to you or did you think I would get naked in front of anyone?" Helen smirked, causing Hermione to blush deeper. "I've been waiting for you to be ready to be in a relationship before making any advances. I thought you weren't ready for that, but that is not something I can decide. That is for you to decide. And whenever you decide you are ready, I'll welcome you with open arms and a kiss."

Hermione got a thoughtful look on her face and after a while spoke up, "I know I'm not ready yet, but after seeing you with Cedric I thought my chance was gone forever. Now that I know that's not the case and that you are willing to wait for me, I'll take my time and will come to you as soon as I'm ready, so that there are no more hiccups after that. I know that I like you. More than that even. But I'll not rush in now to make a mess of the situation. When I'll come to you, I'll finally be ready." She finished strongly with determination.

Helen hugged her tightly and gave her another peck on lips, "That's all I ask."

XXXXX

Ever since the Lockhart's detention incidence, Helen had been planning on a simple enchanted jewelry. Today she finally had the time to complete that task. She was in the Room of Requirement, along with Padma and they had brought left earring of all the earring sets they had with them. Helen was going to enchant them to detect potions and poisons in their food and drink.

Due to the ritual they had done, they had become virtually immune to such things but an unforeseen consequence of it was that they could not detect them anymore, without detection charms at least. Thus Helen was going to enchant all their left earrings to detect it for them. Now, whenever their food or drinks had a mind altering potion such as love potions etc, the earring would grow hot, and whenever there was poison, it would become cold and send minor vibrations.

It wasn't limited to just food stuff only. It would work even for aerosol forms, such as the cologne Lockhart had worn that night as well as on any drinks. Helen was saving the right earrings for other useful enchantments and had only used the left ones so as to not cause confusion between different signals from different enchantments.

XXXXX

The winter holidays were on them. Their trunks were packed and their bellies full with the last meal they will have in this calendar year at Hogwarts. Apart from a handful of students, everyone was going back of the winter holidays, especially with the Chamber of secrets open not many wanted to brave an empty Hogwarts. Helen was going back to Bones' Manor and would stay there for the entirety of the vacations.

Lockhart contacts had come through and he got invited to the Minister's annual Yule ball, where he would appear with her as his plus one. He was going to pick her up from the Bones' Manor for the event and would return her back after the event.

Right now her group of friends were chatting excitedly about holidays and guessing what gifts they would be getting. Helen, herself was concentrating on a advanced chemistry book, where she thought she had finally found a suitable material for her communication hub. The solution was simple enough, as she had already determined what should be the property of the material, something similar to a wand, but not quite. The answer was Charcoal. She was going to order some of the stuff to experiment when she got back to Hogwarts. She finally closed the book, satisfied with her work and joined the chatting group.

Later, back in the Bones' Manor when Amelia asked if she wanted her Occlumency barriers checked, Helen had consented and brought forward only the impenetrable shields in her mind, dropping the more advanced decoy memories and traps on the outside of the shield. Amelia tested her shields and declared them to be formidable when she couldn't find any fault in them.

Soon the Yule arrived and Helen spend most of the late afternoon getting ready for the ministry ball. Amelia was also invited due to her position of head of DMLE, though Susan was not. Usually only of-age or about to be of-age heirs of the noble families were invited to such events, so Helen having snaked her way in was a bit unusual. Mostly, the invitees included members of the Wizengamot, high level ministry officials as well as various influential members of the magical community. Helen wanted to go just for this reason so she could start making important contacts that would be useful for her later on.

So instead, Susan was helping Helen get ready for the event. Several hours later, they both stood in front of a huge mirror to admire the fruits of their hard-work. Helen was dressed in an elegant floor length Lace Chiffon dress. It had an illusion Bodice, as well as the back and the sleeves, which had red roses sewn on it to match the color of the dress and enhance the illusion of coverage. The material at the front of the dress was overlapped to look somewhat like a simple Celtic knot and below it, from her waist downwards, the dress flared a bit till it reached the floor.

To compliment the dress, Helen was wearing simple dangling diamond earrings and a thin diamond bracelet on her left wrist. She would be carrying a silver clutch with her and her short heels were also silver. Her hair were up, done in a messy undone bun with several strategically placed strands coming down on either side of her face. They had spelled her hair to lighten up so now they looked Mahogany instead of reddish black. They had applied subtle make-up to enhance Helen's natural beauty. For a change the make-up was done in such a way as to not bring out her eyes but to make them appear darker instead. Only thing not subtle was her lipstick, with matched her dress.

Several minutes later, when they were still admiring the beauty in the mirror, Amelia arrived to check on them.

"Oh, Wow" she exclaimed, looking at Helen, "Well, we know where everyone's attention will be tonight. You look sensational, Helen."

Helen twirled around to face Amelia, her dress flaring out a bit and smiled at the woman "Thanks, Amelia."

She looked over the older women and frowned. She had done her hair which were above her head in an elegant bun, but apart from that she was still in her casual clothes.

On inquiring, Amelia replied "I'll arrive as late as possible without appearing to be rude. I tend to avoid such events but since I was invited, I'll attend, but for as short a period as possible."

Helen nodded, as Amelia continued, "Anyways, the reason I came up was that your date is her."

Susan gushed again, for the 37th time, not that anyone was counting, "I still can't believe you got invited by Gilderoy Lockhart to the ministry ball. Do you know how lucky you are?"

"Yeah, I know." Helen replied, faking her own excitement. After giving herself another once-over at the mirror, she grabbed her clutch and went to the drawing room, where Lockhart was waiting. He looked quite dashing in his modern looking robes, something that could easily be passed as muggle formal long coat, which ended mid calf and had ruby encrusted buttons from neck to waist and had silver embroidery at the cuffs and hem. His trousers and shoes were black as well and he had tucked a handkerchief in his breast pocket that matched her dress. The top of the collar and the cuffs that were peeking out showed that his shirt was pearly white.

His face lit up as soon as he saw her but at one look from her he quickly adjusted his expression. After some small talk they left, early for the ball, stating that they were meeting a few of his acquaintances before the event. It wasn't true but it was a good excuse.

The real reason was that Helen wanted to sneak into a certain department and an invitation was the perfect way to bypass the security. They arrived at the atrium of the ministry and were quickly cleared by the security after showing them their invitation. The ball was being held at a hall on level 5 which also had the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

They waited till an empty elevator arrived and got in. As soon as the doors closed, Helen pulled out her Invisibility Cloak and covered both of them under it. Lockhart had to stoop a bit to avoid his feet showing, but he did so without complaining, just as if he didn't had a choice. Soon they arrived at level nine, the department of mysteries and made their way to the entrance chamber.

Upon entering, as soon as they closed the door behind them, the walls started rotating and came to a stop after a few seconds, making it impossible to identify which door led to where. Helen, however, knew how the room worked based on the memories of Voldemort, who in turn was informed by his death eater Augustus Rookwood.

Lockhart, at Helen's direction, spoke in clear voice, "Hall of Prophecy"

Helen didn't want to speak in case they had installed a recording device in the chamber since the time of Rookwood, that was one of the reasons she had brought Lockhart with her. The other was to offer him as Scapegoat if things went south, after triggering safety switch she had installed in his mind. On hearing a particular phrase, Lockhart will lose all his memories, literally all of them, trying him into a baby, mentally at least.

The walls rotated again and came to a stop after a few seconds. They moved to the door straight ahead and entered inside, finding themselves in a vast, cold chamber with a ceiling as high as that of a cathedral. It was filled with row upon row of towering shelves. On these shelves were hundreds of small, dusty, glass orbs, each with a yellowed and dusty label affixed below. Candle-brackets set at intervals along the shelves held blue-flame candles.

Since the prophecies were ordered chronologically, they moved to the last shelf and started moving backwards till they arrived in the right year, 1980. They were in the row 97, and quickly started inspecting the labels. Soon Helen found one labeled:

_S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D._

_Dark Lord_

_and (?) Helen Potter_

Helen slowly and carefully touched the orb. When nothing happened she picked it up and gazed at it. After a moment she let a trickle of magic flow from her fingers into the orb and suddenly a sort of memory entered her mind.

The memory showed a disheveled woman with large glasses, which Helen shockingly realized was Sybill Trelawney, the Divination teacher at Hogwarts. She seemed to be in a trance when she suddenly started speaking in a haunt-y voice:

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark her as his equal, but she will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

Helen stood still, her mind working fast trying to interpret and analyze the wordings of the prophecy. She stood there for several minutes, before a victorious smirk slowly appeared on her face.

She was about to smash the orb when an idea came to her. She pulled out her secondary wand and waved it at the orb, concentrating. She removed the bits Voldemort had not heard and placed the orb back in its position. Then she along with her pet swiftly exited the place and reached the ball hall just as the party was starting.

Lockhart did what he was told to do admirably, in Helen's honest opinion. While he didn't had many contacts in the Wizengamot, he did had a lot of them in other circles. He introduced Helen to Barnabas Cuffe, the editor in chief of The Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter, their chief reporter, who was Cuffe's plus one. They gave a few works for the tomorrow's edition and moved on to meet the main radio presenter of The Wizarding Wireless Network (WWN). After him they met a few Quidditch stars, another author who wrote household books, and several ladies of various houses, who were fans of Lockhart's work and he used the opportunity to help Helen make acquaintance with them.

Helen also met with Lords Greengrass, Davis and Abbott who had introduced her to several of their fellow lords. Soon the dance started and Helen twirled with Lockhart for a few songs, before Minister of Magic himself asked to cut in, wanting to get to know the girl who lived. Cornelius Fudge, Helen realized within a few minutes, was a bit dim-witted but with fair political acumen to recognize opportunities whenever they arrived and to grab them with both hands. Like, for example, the presence of the girl who lived at the party he was hosting. After dancing a couple of songs with him, Helen was sure she had left a more then positive impression on the man.

After the party ended, Lockhart had escorted her back to Bones' Manor where Helen told him that he had done an praiseworthy job. His face had lit up at that and Helen imagined if he had a tail, it would be wagging to and fro.

XXXXX

On the new year's eve, Amelia hosted an informal party of friends at the Manor. Most of Helen's and Susan's friends were invited as were their parents. Helen was dressed in a crisp Muslin dress with geometrical patterns that ended at her mid-thigh. The dress had a modest sweetheart neckline with shoulder straps which left her arms bare and was almost completely backless apart from a inch thick strip that connected the shoulder straps back to the dress under her arms. She had drop shaped dangling diamond earrings and a twisted gold and diamond bracelet on her left wrist. To complement the dress, she was wearing deadly five inch beige pumps that had small diamonds studded on the straps.

Madam Malkins, who was a friend of Amelia, on seeing the dress had complemented Helen and had asked about her knowledge of muggle clothing. Fifteen minutes later she and Helen had tentatively agreed to collaborate to launch a modern clothing line aimed to bring the fashionable designs for the muggle world to the magical one. Helen had indicated that she would ask Lockhart to join forces with them, to work on the man's line.

After mingling with everyone, the younger party-goers had separated from the older ones and had there own separate party which was a lot more wilder. When the clock struck midnight, Helen welcomed the new year kissing Cedric, with a lot of loud cheering and wolf-whistling. Later that night when the guests had left, Helen kissed Hermione as well, who along with Hannah were staying with them till the start of new term.

* * *

**Please R&R.**

**Yule ball dress: search "Elegant Lace Chiffon Christmas Party Dresses" on goo gle, you'll find it.**

**New year's eve dress: you tube video: "New Year's Party Dresses Inspiration - DIY Project" by DIY projects, dress at 0:45.**

**This story have reached over 50,000 hits. Thank you guys for showing interest in my amateurish work. It's your love and support that encourages me to keep improving.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers. Still no Beta.**

**This is the last chapter of the 2nd year and covers the time period from January to the end of the year. There is a small 'gory' scene near the end, which is marked, so if you want to skip, you can, without missing any plot.**

**Now, enjoy the longest chapter I've ever written by far.**

* * *

Helen etched the last few runes on the Charcoal stick delicately, taking care to not break the brittle material. Once she was done she placed it in the slot, connecting the whole system. The experimental communications network, that she had set up here in Room of Requirements consisted of ten handheld mirrors which acted as input/output devices. For now she was only going to activate the audio channels and if they were successful, she would turn on the video function as well. Once everything was connected she gave the setup a once over. Satisfied she took a deep breath and activated two mirrors first.

The devices were working properly and the audio was clear. Buoyed by the success she started activating more mirrors, checking the stability of the communication hub after every mirror and the clarity of transmission on each device.

It was after the sixth mirror was activated, she noticed a problem. The transmissions were fine but the charcoal stick seemed to have disintegrated around the edges. As she activated more mirrors, the disintegration sped up and by the time all the mirrors were activated, there was barely any material left. Soon that was gone too and the devices abruptly disconnected.

Slightly disappointed, but not completely surprised, Helen started the experiment again with another stick. An hour later she only had a few sticks left, but know had a lot of useful data to analyze. While she had expected the sticks to burn out, she was still happy as the transmissions had finally occurred and that too not just in pairs. She had tried all variations of combinations, linking several mirrors together for a conference, connected one mirror to others in quick successions, tried calling an already engaged mirror via another mirror and getting a prompt on the said mirror about the incoming call, without disconnecting the ongoing call. Every combination was successful, indicating to her that she was on the right path, she just needed to go a bit further.

The issue was that the Charcoal, while a perfect material for the central hub of her comms network, was not very durable and the accumulation of the excess magic into it ended up disintegrating it very quickly. It was the reason she didn't even try video communications yet, as it would have a much higher magical flux that would immediately dissolve the material.

So now she needed some way to dissipate the excess magical energy while keeping the magical connection up through the stick. She had some idea of how to do it, but she would need materials that was only available in muggle scientific labs. There was a certain item she had read about that muggles were experimenting upon these days, and she thought it would be perfect to solve her problem.

Still a bit distracted, she packed up her experiment with a wave on her wand and walked over to Padma who was done reading up on the chapter Helen had asked her to read from an advanced charms book.

"So, give me a summary" Helen asked as she sat down on a high back chair that appeared in front of Padma, unconsciously smoothing her circle skirt.

Padma gathered up her thoughts and started describing what she had learned about patronus charm from the book. Helen already knew the theory behind the charm, but had never cast the spell herself. She knew that Voldemort was unable to use this spell for two different reasons. First was that he couldn't bring up the emotions or feelings required for the spell as he had never actually felt them. The second was that even if he somehow was able to produce the emotions, his magic was too much lopsided towards the dark that he still wouldn't be able to cast the spell.

Well, that wasn't completely true, Helen thought to herself as she only paid half of her attention to Padma. Magic was neither dark nor light, it was just magic. There was no alignment to magic, but there certainly was to intentions and emotions. Both of those could be light or dark, and too much of either would start to affect the soul. For example, Voldemort had so much darkness in him that he couldn't possibly use the so-called light spells anymore.

The light or dark spells or magic, as people generally thought of them, were actually called so because of the emotional requirement to cast these spells. Patronus spell, for example, required feeling of love or belonging along with a protective feeling. Helen was going to attempt it in a few moments, as she tried to bring forward the right emotions in her mind. The reason she was doing so was to keep her soul unaligned to dark, because of recent she had been performing a lot of 'dark magic', especially with the regular fun she was having with Lockhart.

Bringing the right emotions was difficult for her, as her every action was done with a thought of personal gain and also, her recent thoughts had been turning darker and darker with each session with Lockhart. Especially, after the last time she had tortured the man, she had almost tied Padma and Hermione up and had her way with them. So, she needed to use some 'light magic' to cleanse herself, so to speak.

Every positive human connection she had, be it Padma, Hermione, Cedric, Luna or even Colin, was made for some sort of personal benefit. However, she tried to argue with herself, unlike Voldemort, who found everyone dispensable, Helen liked the people she had around her. She felt they _belonged_ with her, to her. Not exactly what was required for the spell but she twisted the thought and came up with the conclusion that the reverse should also be true, that she belonged with them as well.

With that thought fixed in her mind, she stood up, cutting off Padma, and pulling her wand out incanted "_Expecto Patronum_"

A bright white light started emitting from the tip of her wand and formed into a round wide shield. Slightly disappointed at not getting a corporal Patronus, Helen poured more power into the spell, but didn't do anything apart from making the shield a bit wider. As Helen started getting frustrated, the shield begin to waver, giving Helen an idea. She let the spell go and concentrated again, ignoring the 'You did it on your first try!' from Padma.

She raised her wand again and incanted "_Expecto Patronum_" again, but this time with focusing on the emotions that the belonging aspects of her relationships raised within her. She thought of how being with Cedric or Hermione made her feel and how she wanted to keep them protected.

Again white light started to flow out of her wand, but this time instead of forming a shield, it started molding into a shape. Soon, the shape became clearer and Helen realized she was looking at herself, or rather her animagus form. The Patronus took the shape of a Raven, exactly like she had pictured in her mind while determining her animagus form, and spreading its wings, started flying in circle around both herself and Padma. After a few rounds it came to land on her shoulder and lightly head-butted her jaw.

Helen dispelled it with a smile and sat down again satisfied, while Padma continued to stare at her with a gaping mouth.

XXXXX

Helen had been wanting to do something nice for Severus for a while and had gotten him a couple of gifts on Christmas. First one had cost her a pretty knut and a significant amount of time to arrange. It was a collection of rare ingredients mostly from southern and eastern Asia and she had asked Padma and Su's help to assemble that gift. The second gift was a more personal one, an album of non magical photos of Severus and Lily when they were kids. At the end of the album, she had added a few magical photos of him and herself together, either walking side-by-side or discussing something. She had employed Colin to snap these pictures and had lend him her Cloak for the purpose.

Helen had known that the gifts were very well received when she met the man for the first time after holidays. The look he had given her was so earnest, it felt completely out of place on Severus's face. And her subtle message in the form of their photos together was also understood, with the way his eyes had lingered on her figure in tights and form-fitting tank top, when she had removed her robe to start working on a potion.

Severus had explained how the mastery system worked. In order to even be considered for a potions mastery, first, one had to get either an O in potions NEWT or at least Es in both potions and herbology. An E or above in CoMC also helped but it is not integral for admittance. Then, any aspirant had to get a nomination from a potion master to even appear before the mastery council. Severus had promised her that he would do so for her whenever she was ready.

Then came the real difficult part. To get a mastery, one had to clear an exam conducted by the council which included a written exam, a practical portion and a viva conducted by a five member panel. All three of them were grueling in length and difficulty, each taking at least a complete day, which practical part sometimes taking up to a month, depending on the potions one were assigned. The several potions assigned had to be brewed simultaneously.

Once one clears all these exams, they are finally given the opportunity to prove that they are master material. In order to do so, one had to either create a new potion or modify three existing ones. The modification had to be complementary in nature, that is, for example, either simplify the process of making the potion, or add a coinciding effect, or reduce the ingredient requirement and so on and so forth.

Severus had informed her that for over two centuries now, even master achieved their mastery by the second method, and all the new potion that were discovered since were done by them after they became a master.

So, Helen was practicing multiple potion brewing simultaneously right now with polyjuice potion, veritaserum and an antidote for mixed poisons. After working continually for over an hour she finally sank into an armchair next to Severus'. The antidote was complete, the polyjuice would be next week and the truth potion the next after. Tomorrow she will be here again to start on wolfsbane potion, so that its completion coincided with that of polyjuice.

She had already brewed wolfsbane a few times, but now was working on modifying the potion to improve upon its effects. If she was successful, it will go as one of the modification required for her mastery. For the other two, she was planning to simplify one of either polyjuice or veritaserum and add a complementary effect to one of the simpler potions.

For now, she was discussing basics of alchemy with Severus, something she already knew but couldn't tell him. This was her way of legitimately getting introduced to Alchemy and the rest would be taken care by her curious nature as a Ravenclaw. By next year she could justify her fairly intermediate knowledge of the specialized subject easily. Later as she was leaving, Helen lightly grazed her fingers from one of his shoulder to the other, touching the bare skin of his neck. Severus had flinched pleasantly at the unexpected touch, but hadn't reprimanded her and had given her a barely restrained look of need when she had huskily whispered him a 'Good Night' with a promise to see him tomorrow.

XXXXX

Apparently, diary Riddle was not satisfied with the level of panic in Hogwarts. By the time January came to an end, there had been two more attacks, which ended up petrifying a first year Griffindor and a sixth year Hufflepuff, both muggleborn. After the winter holidays, the news had obviously spread in the wider magical community as children were bound to tell there parents about the chamber of secrets and Dumbledore was feeling the resulting heat. After the first year Griffindor was attacked, Minister had Hagrid arrested to be seen taking some action. After the sixth year Hufflepuff was attacked though, the board had suspended Dumbledore, much to the glee of Helen.

Despite all that school continued on, mostly normally albeit with far stricter rules. The second set of Quidditch matches arrived and Griffindor beat Hufflepuff narrowly 180-160 in a one-sided match. The score didn't exhibit the one-sided nature of the game as Cedric caught the snitch, otherwise the Griffs probably would have closed the gap to Ravenclaw.

The Ravenclaw-Slytherin match ended up as one of the highest scoring match in Hogwarts history, with both teams going on all out attack. The match ended when Helen caught the snitch, quite easily in the end, taking advantage of the flaw in Malfoy's broom in tight turns and the game ended with a score 560-390, in favor of Ravenclaw, giving them an insurmountable lead of 590 points over second placed Griffindor, virtually ensuring them the Cup.

It was hours after the match and Helen was lying face down completely bare, with only a sheet covering her derrière, while Lockhart's strong hands massaged the aches out of her overworked muscles. Helen thought letting him touch her naked body was good enough reward for the good work he had done during the winter holidays. To her surprise, the man had various oils available for the massage as well as talent and experience from his research for his book _Holidays with Hags._ She didn't want to think on the details of that, hags and massage... urgh! However, she still thought this might become a regular activity during the next few months.

After a hour of relaxation, where she might even have dossed off, Helen finally got up, wrapped the sheet around herself, collapsed into the couch and leaned into the armrest, her bones still feeling soft. Lazily, she started discussing the progress on the Potter Manor with her slave. Earlier she had sent her approval as well as her plans for the reconstruction of the manor to the goblins, when Lockhart had so generously decided to fund the project.

She had planned several modifications to the original design of the manor, so Lockhart was going to spend almost all of his acquired wealth on it, while the rest of it was going to a couple of other ventures, including her partnership with Madam Malkin. She had let him take over the interior designing as he had good taste for that, while she herself had concentrated on the structural and the exterior designs as well as the complete overall of the basement.

The manor was expected to be completed by the start of the summer holidays but, unfortunately, she couldn't move in completely due to her status as a minor. It wasn't a big problem however, as she doubted she would be remaining in the country for anything longer than a week.

She then switched topics to public relations and the correspondence he was helping her maintain with Howard Robinson, the main radio presenter of WWN, as well as Bernabus Cuffe, editor of Daily Prophet. The _Witches Weekly_ and the _Teen Witches Weekly_ had printed very complimentary articles about Helen, with the former writing about her modern taste in clothing, with Madam Malkin's positive reviews on them, while the latter discussing her new relationship with Cedric and how good they looked together, with several pictures of them together from the new year's party and their quidditch matches.

Helen left half an hour later after promising a bigger reward if he manages to finish the manor before the school term ends.

XXXXX

Luna had went back to Ravenclaw tower with Padma and her friends, so Colin thought she was safe enough for now and he didn't had to follow her. He decided to find what Helen was doing, having seen her leave with a fifth year girl, Arya Williams, few minutes ago. He quickly washed down the last of his dinner with some water and went about searching for Helen.

After searching for a while, he heard some sounds coming from an abandoned room on the fourth floor. Moving carefully now, Colin slowly approached the door and listened carefully. He heard a girl breathing heavily and moaning. Thinking she might be in trouble, he carefully tried the handle, found it unlocked and slowly opened the door slightly, without making any noise. He peeped inside and found a most astounding sight, leaving him completely frozen.

The petite fifth year girl, Arya, was lounging on a couch wearing only her skirt. It was, however, the other occupant of the room that had Colin's complete attention. Helen was in a similar state of dress and was bent over drinking wine off the skin of the other girl. She was taking small licks and working slowly down Arya's chest and on to her breasts. Arya leaned back to allow Helen have easier access and let out a moan of pleasure at the gentle, intimate attention Helen was giving to her. Helen hunted for every last drop of the liquid, on her chest, her cleavage, the underside of her breast and finally around her nipple. The brunette let out another moan and pushed her chest up towards Helen.

Helen kneeled on the couch between her legs, wrapped one of her arm around the girl bringing her closer, with her other hand on the other breast, and started sucking gently at the nipple in her mouth, making the brunette cry out in pleasure. Soon though they were kissing passionately and the remaining clothes were divested, leaving them completely naked.

They moved around a bit and were lying on the couch lengthwise, with Helen on the top. Helen started leaning down, but looked up at the last moment to connect her vivid green eyes to his own brown ones, causing him to suddenly fear for his life. But he seemed to have dodged a metaphorical bullet as after a second, she gave him a smirk and a wink, and resumed kissing the fifth year girl. One of her hand slowly crept downwards between the other girl's legs and Colin decided to leave before the other girl also discovered their audience.

He wandered around for another half an hour, thinking about a sudden jealousy for the fifth year girl, and how to apologize to Helen for stepping into her obviously private moments, as well as a sadness he felt when he realized that Helen was with a girl and not a boy. But wait, wasn't Cedric her boyfriend? Feeling even more confused now, he proceeded to Ravenclaw tower.

On not finding Luna in the common room, he went to the second year oval, sure he would find her there. And indeed she was there, cooing at her beautiful snowy owl Hedwig, who he thought was too intelligent, even for a magical owl. In fact, Luna and Helen were the only two girls the owl allowed to groom herself. He had tried petting her head once and had earned multiple scratches in return. He spent another half an hour there before returning to his room to turn in for the day.

As he turned around after shutting his door, he got a scare, finding two vivid green orbs glowing from the dark corner.

"Helen" he whispered and fearfully moved forward. As he stepped further into the room, he could see her more clearly now. Helen was sitting in his chair, which he realized was transfigured to look more regal, almost like a throne, with a high back and dark red cushioning. She was wearing her own version of school uniform, a short sleeved form-fitting shirt with a couple of buttons unfastened at the top. The shirt was tucked under a skirt which ended above her knees, which were crossed with her right leg over her left and her right black heeled toe was pointing in his general direction. She was wearing stockings as she usually did instead of socks. Her robe was behind draped over the chair's back while her tie was missing. Her arms were resting on the armrests on the chair and she slightly tilted her head as she replied, "Colin"

Colin, in the back of his mind, thought on how she managed to look down at him when he was the one who was standing, but matters on the forefront of his mind were quite different. He thought she was the most beautiful person in the world and that she even paid any attention to him was a blessing he was undeserving of. That she had made an effort to be here in his room, for whatever reason, was the sign of her divinity. He wanted to kneel in front her and pray to her, asking forgiveness for his earlier transgressions. Realizing that no one was stopping him, he did so.

"I'm sorry, Helen" he started while sinking to his knees, "I didn't wanted to intrude in your personal matters. Luna had went with Padma, so I thought she was safe enough and I started wandering around looking for you. When I saw you there I just couldn't move. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll never do anything like this again. Just please forgive me..." He rambled on and on for a few minutes as tears ran down his face, imagining that she would certainly order him to leave her alone.

So, it was a total surprise when one soft hand slowly held his chin and firmly lifted his head up, making him look up at his... at his... goddess. The green eyes looking back at him were not angry as he expected, but amused and... seductive?

"Colin" she spoke in a compelling voice as she leaned back releasing his face, "there is nothing to forgive. I knew you were there even before you entered the room. I had a perimeter charm set up in the corridor, so I knew of your presence as soon as you entered in the vicinity. Now, what does it tell you, when I didn't stop even after I became of your presence, hmm?"

Colin breathed a sigh of relief when he realized she was not angry with him and thought of her question. After a few moments he replied, "You didn't mind me seeing you like that? You weren't offended?" he asked hopefully.

Helen nodded serenely, "Yes, but that's not all of it. I like you, Colin. And I can see the look in your eyes whenever you look at me. You desire me. You Worship me. Don't you?"

Slightly embarrassed that Helen had so easily uncovered his truth, he nodded meekly, "Yes, Helen."

"Hmm" Helen said thoughtfully and looked deeply into his eyes for a minute. Colin thought that he was being X-rayed with the way her eyes intensified but couldn't look away from the mesmerizing orbs. After a minute, the intensity lessened but she still held his eyes. Then she spoke up.

"I want you to read a book called, _Magical Oaths, their meanings and uses_ in the library tomorrow. You will understand why I want you to read that book once you read it. Afterwards, you will have to make a decision which has the potential to completely alter your life. You can ask Padma about that decision after you have read the book, she can clarify any doubts you have."

Helen paused and her expression turned sensual and her voice husky, "As for the other matter, you are too young now Colin, but when you are older, I might fulfill your desires, if you make the right decision." She caressed his cheek with the tips of her fingers, leaving a trail of fire on his skin and left, with him still kneeling on the floor, touching his cheek, remembering her touch.

XXXXX

Three days later Colin had come to a decision. He had asked Padma about it and she had confirmed it to him that she had given her own magical oath to Helen. In was early in the morning now, about the time when Helen would leave for her magical practice. He knew he was one of the very few people who knew about that. He got up from his bed and quietly moved to the second year oval.

He was right in time, as he saw Helen's door open soon after he entered the room and she stepped outside, still dressed for bed in a creamy silken camisole nightdress. She didn't seem surprised by his presence and calmly greeted him, "Good morning, Colin" and looked at him expectedly.

He didn't waste words with small talk or explanations as they would become redundant shortly. Instead, he took a deep breath, pointed his wand at his heart and clearly enunciated, "I, Colin Creevey, pledge my magic, my body and my life to follow and support, Helen Lilian Potter, in any way I can. I promise to hold all her secrets and to aid her in all her endeavors. I will hold this pledge until the time she releases me from this Oath."

He looked at her with earnest eyes as he waited for her decision. He didn't had to wait for long as Helen stepped in front of him and replied with a wicked smile, "I, Helen Lilian Potter, accept your oath, Colin Creevey."

XXXXX

Ever since the chamber was opened Helen had ramped up the intensity of the training for her fellow 2nd year Ravenclaws. That was several months ago now and the results spoke for themselves. The Ravenclaws were head and shoulder above the rest of the class in all the wand based subjects, i.e. DADA, Charms and Transfiguration. In fact, what they didn't know was that they were almost at par with the third years currently and even beyond in DADA. Padma was on top of this group, even further ahead of Hermione, due to her extra training in the early morning daily.

This advanced group also included Hermione, Daphne, Susan and Blaise. Tracey and Hannah had started but could not cope up with the extra workload so had dropped out quite early. However, they still got regular help from the members of the training group so they were near the top of the class as well.

Everyone one had a branch of magic they excelled at. Padma and Terry had grasped the few healing spells she had taught them on the first try and were now doing their independent studies in the subject after Helen had encouraged them to do so. Su, Anthony, and Blaise were best at combat spells with Su and Blaise more proficient at offence while Anthony had a solid defense. Daphne, Hermione and Susan were best in Transfiguration while Mandy, Morag and Lisa were in Charms. While all were proficient in Potions, Terry was the best in the group, followed by Tracey. Micheal was a jack of all trades kinda guy though his best fields were combat and transfiguration, where he was just behind the top students of the subject.

Recently, Luna and Colin had also started learning from Helen, though of late, Colin had started advancing even further. Only Padma knew the reason for that, apart from Helen and Colin of course. Helen had Colin join her during her morning training sessions and wouldn't stop training him until he couldn't even lift an arm anymore. The result was the rapid development of Colin Creevey, both magically and physically, to the top student of his year.

Both Padma and Colin had performed a few rituals as well. Both of them had undergone the Akkadian magical capacity ritual and the Nahuatl body strengthening ritual, though the later was done with Re'em's blood (bought using Lockhart's money) instead of Troll's blood, Helen didn't want more hedonists running around. Apart from those Padma had finally done the Sumerian magical channels ritual, Helen judging that she had enough control over her magic to do it successfully.

Today though only Colin was present as Helen had something special planned. Colin had been surprised when he arrived to the room today because instead of the usual dummies and shooting ranges there was a bed present in the center of the room. Helen was sitting in an armchair close by and directed him to take the one in front of her. She was wearing a floor length night-gown which didn't hide anything, so Colin could see the short nightdress she was wearing underneath.

Helen had given him an amused look when she noticed his wandering eyes but had turned serious quickly as she explained what she wanted them to do today. Colin on hearing her explanation had immediately agreed, this is something similar to what he had wanted for sometime now. So, he stood up and went to the bed. Taking a deep breath he took of his shirt and laid down on the bed, looking towards her with yearning eyes.

Helen slowly got up and approached to stand right besides him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." he replied simply with full conviction.

"This is my first time. There will be pain and blood."

He took her hand in his own and replied, "I'm sure we can handle it."

She looked into his eyes for a few moments and then gave herself a determined nod. Taking a deep breath herself she removed her gown as well as her wands, she wouldn't need them for what they were going to do. Slowly she climbed on the bed and straddled him with her hands on his chest.

Slowly, her right hand started moving and came to rest right over his heart, feeling his steady heartbeat. She gave him a smile and moved the hand a bit further up to finally rest on his chest. She closed her eyes and arched her body, facing up.

Finally she whispered "_Ravnensdystre_"

Colin immediately felt intense burning pain right underneath her palm as he tried to not make a sound. He failed when sharp piercing pain started accompanying the burning sensations. The pain was the most intense he had ever felt in his life like an acid was eating away at his skin while it was being burned and cut using a dull blade. Thankfully it was localized only at one location and not all over his body. However, as soon as he thought that, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head, like he was just hit with a bat over his head. Before he could fall unconscious though the pain suddenly stopped as Helen rocked forward with her long hair whipping at his face. He remained lying there, sweating profusely, watching Helen as she was hunched over him, supporting herself with her hands on his chest.

Slowly, she straightened up and opened her eyes to look at his chest right above his heart. He followed her gaze and awkwardly tried to see the results himself. Even though it was upside down from his view, covered in blood, and surrounded by angry red swollen skin, his tattoo was a work of beauty. It was a red Helenium flower with orangish-yellow tips and a purple center, with a curvy vivid green stem that ended where his left nipple started. The flower seemed to be alive with energy, as the colors seemed to pulse with his heartbeat.

When he questioned about that, Helen replied breathily as if she had just run a marathon, "It's doing so because I'm in contact with you. It will stop pulsing as soon as we stop touching and the further away you are from me, the more yellow the flower will be."

Helen demonstrated the effects by getting off of him and the flower stopped pulsing. Colin felt a sadness at that and restrained his urge to touch her again. She cast a few healing spells on him and gave him a skin soothing cream to apply on it. As he applied the cream she explained to him that he could will the mark away just with a thought anytime such situation was required. Then she sent him back to common room to sleep of the rest of the morning.

Helen absently watched the door close behind Colin as she thought of the mark she had just given him. She contemplated how the mark was similar and different from the dark mark of Voldemort. Unlike the dark mark, which was a purely runic tattoo under the snake and skull, her mark was a combination of combination of enchantments, runes, charms and wards. The dark mark was much simpler in design and it had a very few functions. It worked as a rudimentary muggle pager which told both Voldemort and his death eaters where to go whenever one summoned the other. It also had a kill switch built in it, that could be used to remotely kill a death eater instantly by Voldemort.

Her mark on the other hand, did a lot more and thus required a lot more energy to the made. It would notify her whenever one of her followers turned sides against her as it was linked to their mind. She could then take several actions using the mark, like making the mark disappear (but not completely gone), track done the turncoat, or even kill the bearer exactly like the dark mark. Her mark could also be willed away by the bearer whenever the situation required it, for example, if Colin was to go swimming, he could will the mark away and no one will know of its existence.

Her followers can find her as well using the color of the mark and the triangulation methods. The flower would be almost completely red with only the tips of the petals yellow whenever she was within half a mile distance. At around hundred mile distance and over, the petals would be mostly yellow with the red receding to a narrow line right at the base of the petals. This function Helen could turn off whenever she wanted to not be found, in such case the petal would turn into the mostly yellow state, whatever the distance. In addition to that the mark would let Helen know about the general health of her followers.

There were several more functions it performed and because it was such a complex piece of magic that was connected to the minds and bodies of the bearer and herself, she wouldn't be able to give the mark to a lot of people. So she was going to design another mark, which would be similar to the dark mark, to be given to the rest of her followers, with the Helenium reserved only for her inner circle.

XXXXX

Time flew by and soon the last set of Quidditch matches were on to them. Ever since Dumbledore was suspended, there had been no more attacks so students were feeling relatively safe and thus the spirits were high. The weather had been gradually improving and now in the second week of May almost no one was wearing robes, with it being warm and sunny outside.

Slytherin had won over Hufflepuff 290-180 last week, with Cedric catching the snitch to again save Hufflepuff from a humiliating defeat. Their chasers had scored only five goals all season while their defense had let in sixty-five goals in, basically having the most terrible fall from grace for a house who won the Quidditch cup last year, with Cedric being the only ray of hope for them.

Ravenclaw-Griffindor match started with a very fast pace, though for the first time in the season Ravenclaw were behind after an hour of play with Griffindor leading 100-70, as they tried their best to close the points gap between the two teams. However, it was for naught, as an hour later Helen successfully maintained her 100% record of catching the snitch, finishing the match at 290-220 Ravenclaw, winning them the Quidditch cup with the second largest margin in the history of Hogwarts.

Later while the party was in full swing in the Ravenclaw common room, Helen snuck out with Cedric to an abandoned staff quarter. Half an hour later both were topless with Helen lying on top of Ced, making out furiously as their hands roamed freely, exploring the bare flesh with abandon. Helen's hands had just reached his belt when McGonagall's serious voice was heard throughout the Castle, "Everyone is to report to their Common Rooms immediately. Your Heads of Houses will give you further information there. You have ten minutes."

Helen and Cedric froze, looking at each other, as the instruction was repeated. They quickly got up, dressed and were leaving for their respective common rooms after sharing a kiss. Helen quickly reached Ravenclaw common room, where Flitwick was already present looking solemn. As soon as everyone was gathered, he started speaking

"There has been another attack. A double attack this time. One of our own and other an honorary member, seeing that she spent most of her time here." Helen lost all the color from her face in horror as she realized who Flitwick was taking about.

"Miss Hermione Granger and Mr Colin Creevey were attacked a short while ago when they leaving the library. They have both been petrified and currently are in the Hospital wing with the rest of the victims. Thankfully, the Mandrake Restorative Draught will be completed soon so they will be back among us in a few weeks time. Now, because of this recent attack more stringent rules will be applicable from this point on." Helen fazed out as he explained the stricter rules that were being placed while Padma and Luna came to her either side, hugging her, giving some comfort to her.

As Professor Flitwick finished giving the instructions he called up, "Miss Potter, if you would join me."

Helen sluggishly moved towards Flitwick, who was standing with the door to the corridor outside open. As soon as they were out, Flitwick started speaking, "I know you are very close to both Miss Granger and Mr Creevey." Helen nodded and he continued "So, maybe you could shed some light on something peculiar." seeing her confused look, he stated, "Both Miss Granger and Mr Creevey were found with mirrors in their hand looking around the corner using them. Do you have any idea what that is about?"

Helen kept her face still as she realized what had happened. Keeping her thoughts to herself, she carefully replied, "I don't know what that's about, Sir. Last I saw them was at the party here in the common room, when I had ahh..." she blushed a little and continued, "Ahh... gone out with Cedric to... er... enjoy the sun, yes, enjoy the sun."

Flitwick gave her an amused look and spoke, "Oh well, we shall have to wait for them to wake up to know that mystery. If you find out something please inform the staff immediately. You should know there is a possibility that the school might be closed if the attacked continue and the perpetrator in not found soon." He ended sadly.

After a pause he continued, "In the meanwhile, please refrain from the enjoying the sun too much." with that last quip he turned around and left a slightly blushing Helen behind.

Her blush didn't last for long though as her face turned even redder in anger. It was known to everyone that Hermione stayed mostly in the Ravenclaw tower now and that she was friends with Helen. Colin is also a known associate of her's. Ginny Weasley had to know these facts and from her so did Tom Riddle. This attack was specifically against her and only the presence of mind from her two friends had saved their lives. They both knew of the Basilisk and that the reflected stare petrified the victims instead of killing them.

Helen leaned against the wall right next to the Ravenclaw common room entrance and planned her next action. Fifteen minutes later she appeared in her oval and beckoned Padma to join her in her room.

Later that night a raven flew out of a window in the Ravenclaw tower and circled around the Hogwarts castle as it descended in height and finally landed on an open window in the second floor. It looked around for a few moment but it spread its wings once again and few inside, flying silently along the corridor towards the girls washroom. Once inside, it landed on a partition and looked around and saw a ghostly figure sitting on a toilet. Quietly the raven turned into a girl who pulled out her wand, pointing it towards the said toilet, while standing out of the line of sight.

Helen fired a spell at the door, banging it open, startling the ghost girl inside, who came rushing out, right into the path of her second spell '_Relego Manes_' which banished the ghost from the room, without her being the wiser.

Without wasting a second, she started casting various detection spells all over the washroom, and didn't find any monitoring charms or such. After placing a couple of her own monitoring charms in place she proceeded to the wash basins in the center.

She whispered an '_Open_' in Parseltongue at the tap with snake symbol on it and watched as a section opened up with darkness space behind. She again cast the same spells and on finding nothing whispered '_Stairs_' in the serpent language. She levitated a mirror right in front of the entrance and stuck it on the opposite side on the dark wall with a sticking charm and turned it invisible. Then, she started descending the spiral stairs that projected out from the walls as she whispered a '_Close_' towards the opening, closing it again.

As the spiral stairs ended she summoned Dobby and asked him to bring a live rooster to her. As he popped away, Helen proceeded towards the tunnels. A few minute later she reached a solid wall with two entwined snakes craved into it, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

She waited here and soon Dobby arrived with a rooster frozen in his hands. Taking the rooster she sent Dobby away and hissed 'Open' at the carving.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight, and Helen walked inside calmly with a stiff cock in her hands. She quickly walked through the long dimly lit chamber where towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness.

As she drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself came into view, standing against the back wall. It was ancient and regal, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor.

Disillusioning the rooster, she hid it behind her back and clearly stated in Parseltongue "_Slytherin_"

Slytherin's gigantic stone face started moving. Its mouth started opening wider and wider and Helen saw something move inside. That was all the cue she needed as she unfroze the rooster with her wand. As the basilisk appeared into the mouth of the stone statue, the rooster crowed. The Basilisk froze for a second and immediately started thrashing around, breaking the ugly statue with its immense weight. Panicked by the sound, the rooster crowed again, further increasing the thrashing of the overgrown snake until it crashed on the floor and stilled, dead.

Not feeling amused, even by the rather anti-climactic death of the Slytherin's monster due to a cock in her hands, Helen set about searching the place about for any clues. Half an hour later, she came back to the main chamber empty-handed and conjured a bed to lie down in wait.

She knew that as soon as Riddle hear about closing of the school, he'll hasten to complete whatever plans he had and would eventually come here. She estimated it'll take at most two days for him to appear here again, so she was going to wait for him to come and finish him once in for all. She had left a few strands of her hair with Padma as well as all her supply of the Polyjuice potion, in case her presence was required. Padma was going to impersonate her anyways for an hour when she would appear in the common room to be visible. She would do so until Helen returned. Since tomorrow was a Sunday they had no classes to deal with, making her task easier.

While searching the place, she had placed a few more monitoring charms in the tunnel as well as the craved snake door so that she would be ready when Ginny Weasley finally appeared.

XXXXX

Next afternoon, the monitoring charm in the second floor girl's bathroom triggered and notified Helen that two persons had entered the place. She pulled out the paired mirror from her pocket waiting for the entrance to open. It did a few moments later, and what she saw didn't make any sense to her. She stared at the live images before comprehension came to her making her bang her head at the nearest pillar.

She had been so stupid.

So utterly moronic, so un-Ravenclawish.

Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!

She had made a hypothesis and had assumed that her assumption was correct without corroborating the facts. She knew one of the Weasley children had to be the possessed entity. She had guessed it was Ginny Weasley, the youngest child. And Ginny was there in the entrance, alright. Except, however, Ginny was unconscious and was being levitated.

Levitated by Ron Weasley, who happened to have glowing red eyes and was hissing parseltongue and carrying a diary in his left hand. Huffing to herself, she got up and got into the position, disillusioning herself. As she waited, she remembered Ron's behavior throughout the year. He had been even more troublesome then last year and had several bursts of anger multiple times in the year. If she wasn't very wrong, his grades had also fallen, not that they were very high in the first place, and he was rock bottom in their year, even below Crabbe and Goyle. He had been especially bothersome to her, more so then ever, probably under the influence of the diary. She didn't know the boy well, but should have recognized his odd behavior as a result of some sort of psychological trauma.

Finally, she heard the inner door open and saw them approaching. Ron crossed the last pillars and stood dumb-folded at the sight of dead basilisk, broken statue and a rooster running around. Before he could even move though, Helen quickly stunned him from behind. As both the bodies collapsed on the floor, she summoned the dairy from his hand and took it to the Basilisk's mouth. With a levitation spell it was soon pierced by a Basilisk fang, leaking out a black liquid mass and making a shrill wail.

She placed the diary as well as a basilisk fang on a stone table, that she had transfigured from the broken statue and activated the containment field on it, for which she had carved the runes on it as well as enchanted it.

Turning around she looked at the Weasleys thinking about what to do with them. She could simply kill them, blame easily falling on the Slytherin monster or maybe just remove their memories. But, before she could decide she noticed that Ron's handed were red. On close inspection she found it to be blood, probably some animals. Remembering the message from earlier in the year, she guessed Tom had left another one, as this was the first time he had brought a victim with him.

Needing more information, she flipped the boy around, making him face up, Rennervated him and hit him with a '_Legilimens_'. She came out a minute later, immediately stunning him and thought how to use this new information. Ten minutes later she had a plan. She pointed her wand at Ron and muttered '_Obliviate_'.

XXXXX

Ginny became aware of sounds around her. She thought it was spellfire but couldn't be sure. She was lying sideways on a cold surface, probably the floor. She tried moving around but her body didn't seem to cooperate with her. However, with an enormous effort she managed to open her eyes and saw professor Lockhart firing spells after spells at someone behind her. To her horror, he was bleeding from his side and seemed to be losing to his opponent. However, he suddenly struck forward with a white beam of light and shouted, "Die Slytherin's Monster."

There was a deep thud from behind her, as she saw Professor Lockhart collapse, clutching his side, his clothes completely soaked with his blood, his hair plastered on his forehead with sweat. He took a raspy breath and dragged himself towards her. Seeing her conscious and looking at him, he tried to smile at her, but it looked like a grimace to her.

"Don't worry little one, the monster is finally dead." he said breathily, looking behind her.

"Now, how to get you back to the castle proper." He thought for a few moments, before looking at her with gleaming determined eyes.

"I'll send you back near the entrance, but I don't think I can make it. Too much blood loss you see along with my magic almost completely exhausted. No, I think not. So, here's what I'm going to do, I'll use what I've left to send you back, I'm not letting a child die on my watch." He struggled shifting in position to point his wand at her.

She tried to say to save himself but she was losing her consciousness again. Then she heard him whisper something before he said, "Goodbye, Ginerva Weasley."

She came to consciousness again, this time lying on a soft warm surface. Recalling her last memories, she sat up with her eyes open to see that she was in a bed in the Hospital wing and Ron was lying in another one besides her. Headmaster Dumbledore was by her bed between herself and Ron. She immediately opened her mouth, "Headmaster, you have to save Professor Lockhart! He's dying after his fight with the Slytherin's monster!"

XXXXX

Later that day, Lavender Brown heard from one of her more reliable gossip sources that Professor Lockhart had died defeating the Slytherin's monster while saving Ginny Weasley's life. The monster had possessed Ron Weasley earlier in the year and had been spreading terror using him as a vessel. When he had taken Ginny to the chamber to do a dark sacrificial ritual, while leaving the message on the wall stating that her skeleton would lie in the Chamber forever, Professor Lockhart had come to her rescue. He had somehow deduced where the chamber was and had confronted the monster in the chamber before it could sacrifice Ginny. He had fought with the monster, defeating it but getting mortally injured during the fight. As his last action, he had somehow transported both Ginny and Ron to a safe location, not allowing harm to come to them, even as he laid his own life to save their's. No one knew the identity of the Slytherin monster, and now they could not find out as all those who knew the details were gone forever. Ron had huge gaps in his memories as he couldn't remember anything from when he was possessed.

XXXXX

*_Flashback_*

As soon as Ginny was unconscious, Lockhart got up, walked upto her and knelt in front of her, looking at her with bright eyes, knowing he had done good. Helen acknowledged his success with an approving smile, "You have done well, Gilderoy." using his name for the first time.

"Thank you, Mistress." he replied happily, basking in his Mistress's praise. Eager to earn more he spoke up proudly, "I've another good news, Mistress. I received a letter from the construction company today. The work on the manor is finished. It stands complete."

Pleasantly surprised, Helen praised him further, "That is very good news, Gilderoy. You have done very well." she caressed his cheek with her hand. He leaned into the touch, closing his eyes and giving out a pleasured sigh.

"I recall promising you a huge reward if you managed to complete the manor before the term ended. You have done so as well as this." she waved her other hand around the chamber, her other still caressing his face, "I think you have earned whatever reward you desire. So, tell me, Gilderoy, what do you want?"

His heart jumped up on hearing these words. Astonished he looked up at his mistress, into her glowing vivid green eyes. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he dared and whispered, "I wish nothing but to please you, Mistress. However, I wish... deeply wish, to please you... with my body."

He saw an expression flash through her face, but it was gone before he could identify what it was. His Mistress continued to look at him for a few more moments and he thought she would deny his wish, but she finally replied, "I will grant you your wish. But not now. Later, at the end of the term. However, since you are dead now, you will remain here till I return. My house elf, Dobby, will provide you with food, clothes and books to pass time. I may have a couple of jobs for you in between where you will go out disguised in the world, to do my bidding. You follow all my instruction, and you will have your desired reward."

*_End Flashback_*

XXXXX

A couple of weeks had passed, and the castle had been mourning the passing of their beloved professor. Dumbledore was restored as Headmaster, but had taken severe political hammering and had kept his positions only by the skin of his teeth. Tales of Lockhart's bravely and skill were traded among students and staff and various quotations could be heard several times during a day. Slowly, the mood in the castle lightened and soon the petrified students were awakened, each house then welcomed them back with huge parties in their respective common rooms.

Hermione joined the Ravenclaw party an hour after it started, after attending a far more rowdy Griffindor one, and shortly the second years plus Colin and Luna had snuck to their ovals, changed into their nightwear and had gathered in the second year oval for a more private party. The Slytherin trio had also joined them, though the Hufflepuffs couldn't attend as they had their own party going on. They enjoyed the cozy environment with games, butterbeers and some dancing.

Later as the party started winding down, Hermione followed Helen to her room that they were sharing for past several months. She was nervous as she wanted to do a couple of things and this was the right time.

She entered into Helen's room after her and proceeded inside as Helen closed the door and started getting ready for the bed. Helen took off the night robe she had been wearing for the slumber party revealing an almost sheer black chemise which had an extremely short hemline, just enough to cover her derriere and didn't hide the beautiful body under it at all. She could see the small lacy G-string she was wearing under it and also the fact that that was all she wore apart from the chemise. The noodle straps of the chemise reached quite low and ended in lace work which, while hid the nipples, left no illusions about the rest of her breasts.

Hermione gulped at the visual feast she was getting and forced herself to concentrate on what she wanted to, apart from ogle at Helen like a buffoon. She pulled out her wand, getting a raised eyebrow from the other girl as she approached her and stood in front of her. With a final deep breath, which didn't help her much with her concentration as she got a whiff of Helen's sensual fragrance, she raised her wand, pointing it at her heart and said, "I, Hermione Jean Granger, pledge my life, my magic, my mind, my body and my soul, to follow and support, Helen Lilian Potter, in any way I can. I promise to hold all her secrets and to aid her in all her endeavors. I will hold this pledge until the end of times."

Helen stood there flabbergasted at what Hermione had just done. Did she even understood what she was pledging? Instead of accepting the oath right away, she asked in a controlled calm voice, "Do you know what you are doing, Hermione?"

The said girl looked straight into her eyes, determined, and replied "Yes, I know. I did my research. I'm pledging everything I am to you, for this life and beyond. From the moment you accept my pledge, I'll belong to you. I'll be yours in all the ways possible and I will not be able to break that connection with you. And as there is no exit clause in this oath, I will be yours forever."

She paused for a breath and continued with a slight blush forming on her face, "This oath doesn't change anything for me, as my heart tells me that I belong to you anyways."

With that said she closed the gap between them and raised on her tiptoes to gently peck the taller girl on her lips, leaving no misconceptions about what she meant. She stepped back, having done both of the things she wanted to do and now waited for the other girl to respond.

After a few moments, a wand slipped into the redhead's hand which she unnecessarily raised to her own heart and said the words she had been waiting to hear, "I, Helen Lilian Potter, accept your oath, Hermione Jean Granger."

There was a light glow around both their bodies indicating the acceptance of the oath. As soon as the light faded they both rushed forward, their bodies smashing into each other into an entanglement of arms and legs, while their lips and tongues tried to taste everything on the other's face at once.

Hermione's robe was ditched quickly leaving her in a pair of matching light pink slip and hot pants, while Helen's chemise seemed to have disappeared by the time they had landed on the bed with their mouths still attached to each other and their hands having a will of their own as they explored the smooth flash on the other's body.

There was a brief moment when she felt Helen wave her hand towards the door, but she didn't care much about it as her other hand had slipped under her slip and had started playing with her nipples. She was straddling in the taller girl's lap, who was sitting with her legs stretched out and with support of the backrest, their lips locked. As Helen's fingers worked their magic on her breasts, she drew away to gasp and Helen took advantage to attack her neck, drawing another gasp from her. Helen necked her for a while as her hands kneaded her breasts during which Hermione was completely lost to the sensations and was unaware of the sounds she was making.

Some time later Hermione's mouth was latched to Helen's left nipple while the taller girl was lying down and held her to her chest with a hand on her head while her other hand caressed her bare back. Helen had brought her to an orgasm earlier by just stimulating her breasts and now she was trying to return the favor. The redhead had limited them to second base only, meaning nothing below waist and had resisted when Hermione tried to push Helen's hands towards her hot pants.

Ten minutes later Helen made a deep moan, signalling that Hermione had finally succeeded. They laid there in each other's arm for a while, exchanging occasional kisses and sweet nothings. Some time later, Hermione raised herself on her elbows to meet the taller girl's eyes. She momentarily felt a flash of pleasure when those eyes slid down to inspect her now exposed breasts. As those eyes focused back to her she spoke up, "Thank You, for earlier, when you stopped us at second base only. I thought I was ready for it, but now I realize I wasn't. It seems you know me better than I do."

"Well, I know you would have regretted it if our first time was done in the heat of passion instead of a gentle love-making. I know you are a romantic that way. Besides, now we have all the time in the world." Helen replied, kissing the brunette's palm assuredly.

Hermione smiled at her, but then hesitated to ask her next question. Helen caught her expression and gave her a look. The brunette relented and asked, "I know I shouldn't ask, and it doesn't matter to me anyways, but I am curious" she ignored the 'when are you not curious?' statement from the girl below her and continued, "Have you gone all the way with Cedric?"

Helen raised an eyebrow at the question, making Hermione blush and duck her head, but replied nonetheless, "No, not all the way. Just where we are, even not that as my bra was still on, though I was planning to go a bit more than this but we got interrupted." As Helen tenderly tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear, Hermione didn't ask what interrupted them, having a good guess. She leaned into the touch of the hand closing her eyes. Soon she was sleepy so she placed her head on the other girl's chest and let consciousness fade.

XXXXX

Most of the years' exams were already over now, while the fifth and the seventh years only had a couple of exams left. Cedric had been busy studying for the past few weeks, only managing a few minutes to spend with Helen. Helen had spent most of her free time studying for her 'A' levels. The time she was not studying was spent either working on her businesses or launching her modelling career in muggle world. She had employed Colin to take various muggle style pictures of her in different styles of clothes (Room of requirement was the best replicator, only limited by her own imagination), in different modelling poses and had been sending them to her aunt who had been acting like her manager.

She already had a few jobs lined up due to her connections and with the help of same of her 'skills' she would be a top teen model soon enough.

She had been corresponding with Madam Malkin's as well and her first job was actually in the magical world, modelling for her own line of clothes, _Spark_, which was launching in the first week of holidays. For now though, she was making her way towards the second floor girls bathroom under her cloak. It was afternoon, when most of her friends were enjoying the weather outside. She had made some excuse and was on her way to the Chamber.

Lockhart was out completing an errand for her, so the chamber was empty. She took off her cloak and found a nicely lit empty spot, not a difficult task in the chamber, and started her work. Half an hour later, she stood up and looked at her handy work. There was a round mattress on the ground covered with deep purple silken circular sheet on the ground, surrounded by a few candles. The head of the makeshift bed was indicated by a pillow in the same color.

She stood there looking at her work, but not seeing it as her mind was on what she was going to do. She was still standing there when Lockhart and Dobby arrived with a 'pop'. Lockhart immediately brightened up and started speaking, "Mistress, I've done what you ask..." he stopped mid-sentence having noticed the addition she had made.

Eyes wide he looked at her and whispered, "Mistress, is that...? Are we... ? "

"Dobby, you're dismissed." Helen ordered to the house elf. As he popped away, she turned her eyes towards Lockhart and spoke up, "Yes, Gilderoy, Today I'll reward you by fulfilling your desires."

Lockhart's face turned completely joyful as he barely contained his happiness and excitement. She ordered him to clean up, which he did so immediately, waving his wand over him, removing all dust and sweat he had worked up while on his errand. Helen also absently waved her wand over her performing the same spell. She then moved forward, swaying her hips and approached Lockhart, placing her hand on his chest. With a wave of her wand she removed his robes, shoes and shirt leaving him only in his trousers. She traced her hand over his chest, admiring the beautifully sculptured body. He shivered as her fingers flicked at his right nipple, while she kept their wands at the nearby side-table. Her wand hand, now free, reached for his belt, while the other also made its way there, trailing down his torso to help remove the offending article. Soon she had unbuckled the belt and undid the trouser button and zip.

She slowly trailed her fingers on his skin to his sides and hooked them under his pants. Then she slowly went down to her knees, taking both the trousers and pants with her, finally freeing him of his restrains. He sprang up already hard like a pole and once again she admired his size and girth. Once he was completely bare, she caressed her way up his strong legs and took him in her soft hands.

Looking at him in the eyes, she slowly leaned forward and took him in her mouth. Lockhart moaned as she took him further in until he hit the back of her mouth. She relaxed herself and pressed forward, taking him further in till he hit the back of her throat, making him stumble a bit as he groaned in ecstasy. She slowly started moving her head back and forth, sucking on occasion, or swirled her tongue over his head, while her hands played with the sack or even the shaft when she was concentrating on the head. She occasionally licked him from base to tip and back causing his breath to shorten. Soon she had him right on the edge and he cried out a warning, "Mistress, I'll be coming soon."

She moved her head back so that only his head was in her mouth and stroked his shaft with her hand while her other gently massages his balls. She looked at him as she swirled her tongue and sucked on his head, making him finally lose his control. He came with a roar, filling her mouth with his hot seed, which she swallowed immediately, without letting a single drop fall. He came for several moments, his hardness jerking and pulsing in her hands and mouth. Soon she had sucked him dry and let him go. She stood up and trailed a hand on his stomach as she started walking towards the makeshift bed.

At the edge of the bed, still facing away from him, she reached back to her neck and untied the strings holding her short summer dress, letting the garment fall to the ground, displaying to him that it was all she wore. With a wave of her hand, she lit up the candles around the bed and looked over her shoulder towards him.

He was staring at her derrière and looked up when she looked back. She raised an eyebrow and slightly tilted her head, nodding towards the bed, her intention obvious. Lockhart immediately started moving and was at her side within moments. She took his hand and guided him to the bed. Turning around to face him, she reached up to tenderly comb through his soft hair with her fingers. Slowly, while caressing each other's body, they folded their knees and were soon on the bed, with Helen lying on her back as Lockhart hovered over her.

She guided his head towards her breasts and he immediately latched onto her right nipple, gently sucking and flicking it with his tongue as his hands started kneading both of her breasts. He spent a few minutes on each of her breasts leaving her wet and breathless. She gently pushed his head down and he complied to her signal, by trailing kisses over her ribs and flat stomach to finally reach her core.

After giving her one last look, he reached down and with the tip of his tongue, gave her a lick from bottom to nub, making her moan. He then started lapping her lower lips alternatively making her wetter and hornier. Then he reached with his fingers and gently pulled the skin on the top, exposing her bundle of nerve endings. He reached up and started licking it furiously making her cry out in pleasure. Soon his tongue started plunging in her, as his fingers took its previous job. With so many stimuli, Helen was coming in no time, crying her release to the empty chamber and he lapped up everything she gave to him.

He gently brought her down, with tender flicks on his tongue on her lips, without touching her nub. Once she was back, she gently tugged his hair upwards, pulling him up.

He came up supporting himself on his knees and palms, hovering over her, with his hardness grazing over her hot and wet core. She slowly trailed her fingers downwards and took hold of him, placing the tip right at her entrance. Looking up she gave him a nod and he pressed forward, forcing her outer lips open and slowly entered her. He entered for a few inches when he stopped, having encountered her barrier. She made him pulled out and repeated the motion a few times, getting her used to the fullness. At last, when she was ready, she gave him another nod and he again pushed into her. This time however, he did not stop at the barrier and pulled through it, tearing it apart, sheathed himself completely inside her and stopped.

Helen gave out a cry in pain as she lost her virginity and a few tears escaped her eyes. She had felt the hymen tear up inside her and the sharp pain that accompanied it. Lockhart rained down kisses over her neck and chest as the pain slowly receded, while remaining still below his pelvis, still buried inside her. Once the pain was gone, she signaled him to start moving again. He slowly pulled out and when only the tip was left inside, he pushed in again slowly, causing her to cry out again, but this time in pleasure. He repeated the motion several times slowly building excitement for both of them.

Once she was comfortable, they started moving faster as Helen wrapped her legs around his waist. Their tempo increased further, bringing them closer to the edge. Soon Lockhart shouted about being on edge, so Helen immediately stopped their motions. They remained still for a few moments, as Lockhart retreated from his edge and gave her a nod.

Instead of continuing right away, Helen flipped them around and straddled him with her knees on his either side and her hands resting on his chest. She looked down at him seductively from her new position on top and slightly raised herself on her knees. When only the head remained inside her, she slammed down, causing him to groan. Slowly, she set a rhythm and they again started reaching their previous heights. She continued her movements for several minutes, occasionally changing her motion or angle, till they got close again.

"Together" Helen whispered to him before arching backwards, as Lockhart took hold of her hips to support and direct her motions. Helen increased her tempo as her hands went back behind her to the edge of the mattress between his feet to support her. At this angle he was hitting her right at the spot, and she was going to come any second now.

"Mistress" Lockhart cried, "I can't hold much longer".

Helen further increased her pace, crying "almost... almost..."as she tightly gripped the edge of the sheet.

A few seconds later he cried, "I'm coming".

At her last thrust Helen came as well with an ecstatic cry. As she came, she buckled bringing her torso forward and plunged a ritual knife into Lockhart's heart.

*_Gory scene_*

Lockhart cried in pleasure, shock and pain. He continued to come warm inside her core and started to come warm outside on her fingers as well. He pulsed inside her, shooting his seed all over her insides, in rhythm with the beat of his fading heartbeat, which caused the blood to pour out of the knife wound in harmony with the pulses of his hardness.

Had he been in any state to notice things, Lockhart would have seen the flame of the candles turn blue and flared up to become over a foot long blazes. He would have also noticed the ground had light up in purple light at the edge and benefit the bed, in the shape of a five point star, within a pentagon, within a circle, the light permeating even through the mattress and the sheet. Also the candles were placed at the points of the star, but he couldn't possibly notice that. Just before Lockhart lost his consciousness, he did however notice his mistress having a second orgasm, even as his rapidly softening hardness slipped out of her.

As Lockhart's life spirit faded another orgasm rocked through Helen due to the magical overcharge with highly sexual flavor. The orgasmic magic would continue to pulse until she completed the ritual, bringing her an orgasm every few seconds. So, she had very little time to complete the ritual or she would be lost to the magic induced pleasure and the energy released from the sacrifice would fade away.

Thus, with a titanic effort she pulled out the knife and Stabbed Lockhart again severing his aorta from the heart, causing fresh red blood to start flooding out. She plunged her knife again and again, shredding the skin and the muscles to ribbons, till the rib-cage was open and the heart was completely disconnected.

She threw the knife away as another orgasm rocked her, making her moan, and plunged her hands inside the hole she had made, pushing the broken ribs to the side. Finally after a lot of slipping and maneuvering Helen managed to pull the heart out, squeezing it to get rid of the blood in the chambers.

Once that was done she grimaced at the last requirement of the ritual and brought the heart to her mouth and bit into it. She raised her Occlumency shields to the fullest, knowing that otherwise there was no way she could do this, and tore off a piece before swallowing it directly. Once that had gone down she took another bite.

*_Gory Scene end_*

Later, Helen cleaned up the place, having already vanished the body, removing all evidence of the ritual she had performed. Finally satisfied she cast a few scourgify on herself and conjured an armchair to sit down, thinking about the ritual she had modified to her needs. The origins of the original ritual were unknown but it was not supposed to be performed by a woman. The original ritual involved a man taking the virginity of a willing girl before killing her during orgasm and eating her heart. The girl had to be unaware of the ritual and her forthcoming death and her attention only on the carnal pleasure until the knife was introduced between her ribs. The man would get a significant boast in magical channels and storage capacity as well as in the life force, elongating the natural age significantly and making them difficult to kill.

Helen had to modify the ritual to make it viable to be performed by a virgin girl. While the basics remained the same, the arithmancy of the modification required several extra steps. The virgin girl, in addition to losing her virginity, had to have the seed of the sacrifice in her stomach as well as her womb. Additionally, the element of fire was required to make the ritual possible in its modified state, hence the candles. The effects were similar to the original with an additional affinity for fire elemental magic. Since, Helen already had an affinity for fire elemental, it didn't make much of a difference, except for making the fire branch ever more easier for her. Unfortunately, she couldn't remove the part of eating the heart, so she had to employ Occlumency to perform the disgusting act.

Since, the ritual involved the sacrifice of a human life, it was certainly 'dark'. Had Helen not been refraining from dark intent magic for months and specifically focusing on light intent spells, she would have not be able to cast any light based magic right now. As it was, she still could not produce a fully corporal patronus, being only able to produce a light shield. She reckoned it will take her several months to reach the balance again.

Nonetheless, the virgin sacrificial ritual should help slow down her accelerated aging and now she probably would age similar to a sixteen year old witch, as she was now physically, but with an extremely long lifespan.

She also felt vindicated after exacting her complete revenge on Lockhart. She had turned him into her slave, drained his fortune, made his contacts her's and now had taken his life for her advancement. However, she swore to herself to never do any other ritual that had such... drastic requirements.

After casting the Patronus charm for half an hour, Helen summoned an item from her clutch. The lost diadem of Ravenclaw floated towards her and she guided it towards the mouth of the dead Basilisk and gave it the same treatment as the diary. Once that was done, it joined the said dairy on the stone table under the containment field. Satisfied with her collection for now, she summoned her underwear from the clutch, re-dressed and made her way back to the castle.

On her way, she absently wondered who could be taught to give her massages, probably Blaise or Micheal. Or maybe even Colin.

* * *

**Wow! Another year ends.**

**No cookies for identifying the inspiration for the lemon scene, its so obvious :D**

**I had originally written a much more horrifying ritual scene, but ended up toning it down, because it made even me a bit queasy. **

**The longest chapter by far, over 13K words in it. In fact this chapter is almost as long as the first five chapters combined, probably longer. I thought of dividing it into two, but couldn't find an obvious break, so you guys end up with this gargantuan monster.**

**I just read through the story from the beginning and I can see that I have improved in writing stuff. Though the frequency of mistakes is still more or less the same. Thus, ****I'm still looking for a beta, anyone interested please PM me.**

**I'm really excited about this summer break, as a lot would be happening in it, I have already given a few very obvious hints. A little teaser: We are going to the mainland and will meet a few future semi-major characters there.**

**Also, now that Helen have done it, she will be doing it a lot more, with a lot of people, including several fan-favorites, though no one else will be sacrificed anymore (no promises about that though :P). Also, physically she is now over 16 because of her rituals and thus there will be more detailed descriptions of her physicality and her physical interactions, something I've tried to keep to only a moderate level till now.**

**Please R&R.**

**Rest in Peace, Chadwick Boseman.**

**Wakanda Forever!**


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